JUST SAY "NO":

General Election Debate Dates And Sites Proposed (Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Beth Lester and Clothilde Ewing, Nov. 6, 2003, CBS News)

The Commission on Presidential Debates has proposed four debate (three presidential and one vice presidential) dates and sites for the 2004 general election:

# Presidential: Thurs., Sept. 30, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.

# Vice Presidential: Tues., Oct. 5, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

# Presidential: Fri., Oct. 8, Washington University, St Louis, Mo.

# Presidential: Wed., Oct. 13, Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.

The number of debates, the dates, and the locations have not been agreed to by the parties or candidates - and if history is any guide they probably won’t be until the fall. One of the rituals of September is the debate over debates. A few weeks ago, Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman told CBS News that they had not made any decision about dealing with the commission this time.

George W. Bush could do an invaluable service to democracy by refusing to engage in the traditional high-risk/low-content debate. They are meaningless to the way the candidates would govern the country or even the kind of people they are--even Al Gore isn't as colossal a phallus as he appeared in 2000. Offer to meet with a small group of journalists every couple of weeks for a one hour conversation in a more normal setting. But ditch the dog and pony show.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 6, 2003 3:56 PM