Apr
28
Written by:
admin
4/28/2008 3:27 AM
Talking Points on Presidential Debates
April 26, 2008
- Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have now participated in 21 nationally televised debates, the most in primary history, including four exclusively with Senator Clinton.
- And remember, Senator Clinton did not agree to an earlier invitation that had been accepted to debate in North Carolina.
- Over the next 10 days, Senator Obama believes it's important to talk directly to the voters of Indiana and North Carolina about fixing our economy, cutting the cost of health care and ending a war in Iraq that never should have been authorized in the first place.
- Don’t be fooled by the Clinton campaign’s effort to characterize this proposal as a “Lincoln-Douglas” debate. Those historic debates, held across Illinois in 1858, bore no resemblance to what Senator Clinton proposed today: another 90-minute debate of rapidly alternating answers.
- For starters, the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were three hours apiece, with the first candidate speaking for an hour, the second for a full hour and a half, and the third offering a 30-minute response. Hardly the fare of today’s primetime television.
- Issuing excessive debate challenges is an old staple for candidates who are running behind. Senator Clinton’s challenge today was just another effort to distract from the issues that matter to voters.
- Badly trailing in the delegate count that will decide this nomination, she’s entitled to engage in publicity stunts if she likes. But it’s best not to drag Lincoln and Douglas into it.
Tags: