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 2008 U.S. presidential election | |
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| Democratic Party | |
| Republican Party | |
| Minor parties | |
| Related races | |
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The United States presidential debates of 2008 were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization that sponsored four debates that occurred at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008. Three of the debates involved the presidential nominees, and one involved the vice-presidential nominees.
Republican Party nominee John McCain and Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama did not agree to additional debates; however, each was interviewed at the Civil Forum on the Presidency, held on August 16, 2008, and at the Service Nation Presidential Forum on September 11, 2008. Their respective running mates, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, did not participate in any additional debates.
Joint appearances
On Saturday, August 16, 2008, both McCain and Obama appeared at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California. Similar to the Compassion Forum held in the Democratic debates, each candidate appeared separately, answering similar questions from Warren for one hour. Obama appeared first, followed by McCain.[1][2]
On September 11, 2008, McCain and Obama were separately interviewed at the Service Nation presidential forum at Columbia University.[3]
Debate schedule
| 2008 United States presidential election debates | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date & Time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
| Key: P Participant. N Non-invitee. |
Republican | Democratic | ||||||||||||||
| Senator John McCain of Arizona |
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Friday, September 26, 2008,
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[4] |
University of Mississippi[5] | Oxford, Mississippi | Jim Lehrer of PBS | P | P | ||||||||||
| 2 | Tuesday, October 7, 2008,
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[4] |
Belmont University[6] | Nashville, Tennessee | Tom Brokaw of NBC | P | P | ||||||||||
| 3 | Wednesday, October 15, 2008,
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[4] |
Hofstra University[7] | Hempstead, New York | Bob Schieffer of CBS | P | P | ||||||||||
| 2008 United States vice presidential debate | ||||||||||||||||
| No. | Date & Time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
| Key: P Participant. N Non-invitee. |
Republican | Democratic | ||||||||||||||
| Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska |
Senator Joe Biden of Delaware | |||||||||||||||
| VP | Thursday, October 2, 2008,
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[4] |
Washington University in St. Louis[8] | St. Louis, Missouri | Gwen Ifill of PBS | P | P | ||||||||||
Format
The first and third of the 90-minute CPD presidential debates were divided into nine 9-minute issue segments, allowing the candidates to discuss selected topics, answer follow-ups from the moderator and directly address each other. The second CPD presidential debate featured a town hall format in which voters, either present at the debate or via the internet, posed questions on a topic of their choice. The format of the single vice presidential debate followed that of the first and third presidential debates, but included questions on all topics, with shorter response and discussion periods compared to the presidential debates.[9][10]
Participants
The Republican nominees were Senator John McCain, and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The Democratic nominees were Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. The debates were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
On August 2, 2008, Obama accepted the CPD proposal. In his letter, he stated that due to the short period between the conventions and the campaign, that it was "likely that the four Commission debates will be the sole series of debates" between the two. McCain criticized Obama for rejecting his town hall proposal.[11] On August 18, 2008, McCain and Obama announced they had agreed to the general CPD framework for the three scheduled presidential debates and the one vice presidential debate.[12]
Criticism
A Zogby International poll released on August 15, 2008, indicated that more than 50% of Democratic and Republican voters would like to see Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr included in the presidential debates. Almost 70% of independent voters would also like to see him included. 46% of all voters polled and 59% of independents would also like to see independent candidate Ralph Nader included.[13]
September 26: First presidential debate (University of Mississippi)
| First presidential debate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date(s) | September 26, 2008 |
| Venue | University of Mississippi |
| Location | Oxford, Mississippi |
| Participants | John McCain Barack Obama |
| Moderator(s) | Jim Lehrer of PBS |
Although the debate was originally planned to focus on foreign policy and national security, Lehrer did devote the first half of the debate due to the ongoing 2008 financial crisis, a portion of the debate focused on economic issues.[14][15] McCain repeatedly referred to his experience, drawing on stories from the past. Often, he joked of his age and at one point seemed to mock his opponent. Obama tied McCain to what he characterized as Bush Administration mistakes and repeatedly laid out detailed plans. Neither McCain nor Obama broke from talking points, and neither candidate made any major gaffe.[16]
Reception
An estimated 52.4 million people watched the debate.[17] A CBS poll conducted after the debate on independent voters found that 38% felt it was a draw, 40% felt Obama had won, and 22% thought that McCain had won. Voters and analysts agreed that Obama had won on the economy, but that McCain had done better on foreign policy issues, which were the focus of the debate. However, Obama had a more substantial lead on the economy than McCain did on foreign policy.[18] Initial CNN polling reported Obama won the debate overall by a margin of 51–38.[19] A CBS poll of uncommitted voters shows Obama winning 39–24, with 37% of voters undecided.[20] Time's Mark Halperin graded Obama's performance an A− and McCain's performance a B−.[21] One analyst, Nate Silver, gave greater emphasis to the fact that Obama spoke more effectively about the issues that mattered most to the voters,[22] an interpretation that was backed up by Time Magazine commentator Joe Klein.[23]
Several pollsters noted in the subsequent week that the public's perception of the debate might have been influenced by John McCain not looking at, or directly talking to his opponent during the debate, something many considered disrespectful.[24]
Proposed postponement
On September 24, 2008, McCain announced his intention to suspend his campaign the next day and declared that he wanted to delay the first debate "until we have taken action" on the Paulson financial rescue plan.[25] The reason given for the proposed postponement was so that McCain and Obama could return to Washington, D.C., in order to work on a legislative response to the unfolding financial crisis of 2007–2008. Obama rejected that idea, stating that "this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess."[26] A McCain adviser suggested replacing the vice presidential debate with the first presidential debates and postponing the VP debates to an unspecified later date.[27] Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, Robert Khayat, proposed that Obama hold a townhall meeting with the audience if McCain failed to appear.[28] On the morning of September 26, McCain agreed to participate in the debate, claiming that there had been enough progress in the financial bailout plan.[29] Three days later, however, the House of Representatives defeated the bailout proposal.[30]
October 2: Vice presidential debate (Washington University in St. Louis)
| Vice presidential debate | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Date(s) | October 2, 2008 |
| Venue | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Participants | Sarah Palin Joe Biden |
| Moderator(s) | Gwen Ifill of PBS |
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