2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums
![]() | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2014) |
![]() 2008 U.S. presidential election | |
---|---|
|
|
Democratic Party | |
|
|
Republican Party | |
|
|
Minor parties | |
Related races | |
|
|
| |
Debates took place prior to and during the 2008 Democratic primaries. The debates began on April 26, 2007, in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Election 2008[]
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (May 2014) |
The 2008 United States presidential election was November 4, 2008. The debates, campaigns, primaries, and conventions occurred several months before Election Day. The new president and vice president were sworn on January 20, 2009. It was the first presidential election lacking incumbents since 1952, and was projected to be the largest and most expensive election in U.S. history.
2008 Democratic candidates[]
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (May 2014) |
Already, eight Democrats had formally filed papers with the Federal Election Commission, making them formal candidates for the Democratic Nomination and the Presidency. The candidates who attracted the most media attention included Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Other candidates included Dennis Kucinich, who withdrew, and Mike Gravel, before he defected to the Libertarian Party. Tom Vilsack, one of the earliest candidates to announce a campaign for president, withdrew before participating in any debates. Christopher Dodd and Joe Biden dropped out of the race following the Iowa caucuses, and Bill Richardson dropped out after the New Hampshire primary.
Candidates in debate[]
- Senator Barack Obama - Illinois.
Withdrawn candidates[]
- Senator Chris Dodd - Connecticut (withdrew January 3, 2008)[1]
- Senator Joe Biden - Delaware (withdrew January 3, 2008)[2]
- Governor Bill Richardson - New Mexico (withdrew January 9, 2008)[3]
- Congressman Dennis Kucinich - Ohio (withdrew January 24, 2008)[4]
- Senator John Edwards - North Carolina (withdrew January 30, 2008)[5]
- Senator Mike Gravel - Alaska (withdrew from Democratic Party March 25, 2008)[6]
- Senator Hillary Clinton - New York (withdrew June 7, 2008) [7]
Debate table[]
Key: P denotes candidate participated in debate; N denotes candidate was not invited; A denotes candidate absent but was invited; O denotes candidate was out of the race.
Details | Invitees | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Place | Compere | Sen. Biden | Sen. Clinton | Sen. Dodd | Sen. Edwards | Sen. Gravel | Rep. Kucinich | Sen. Obama | Gov. Richardson |
April 26, 2007 | Orangeburg, South Carolina | MSNBC | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
June 3, 2007 | Goffstown, New Hampshire | CNN | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
June 28, 2007 | Washington, D.C. | PBS | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
July 12, 2007 | Detroit, Michigan | none | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
July 23, 2007 | Charleston, South Carolina | CNN | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
August 4, 2007 | Chicago, Illinois | none | A | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
August 7, 2007 | Chicago, Illinois | MSNBC | P | P | P | P | A | P | P | P |
August 9, 2007 | Los Angeles, California | Logo | A | P | A | P | P | P | P | P |
August 19, 2007 | Des Moines, Iowa | ABC | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
September 9, 2007 | Coral Gables, Florida | Univision | A | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
September 12, 2007 | online-only | none | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
September 20, 2007 | Davenport, Iowa | PBS | P | P | P | P | N | N | A | P |
September 26, 2007 | Hanover, New Hampshire | MSNBC | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
October 30, 2007 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | MSNBC | P | P | P | P | N | P | P | P |
November 15, 2007 | Las Vegas, Nevada | CNN | P | P | P | P | N | P | P | P |
December 4, 2007 | Des Moines, Iowa | none (radio only, NPR) | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | A |
December 13, 2007 | Johnston, Iowa | CNN, Fox News Channel, IPTV, MSNBC | P | P | P | P | N | N | P | P |
January 5, 2008 | Goffstown, New Hampshire | ABC | O | P | O | P | N | N | P | P |
January 15, 2008 | Las Vegas, Nevada | MSNBC | O | P | O | P | N | N | P | O |
January 21, 2008 | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | CNN | O | P | O | P | N | N | P | O |
January 31, 2008 | Hollywood, California | CNN | O | P | O | O | N | O | P | O |
February 2, 2008 | New York, New York | MTV | O | P | O | O | N | O | P | O |
February 21, 2008 | Austin, Texas | CNN | O | P | O | O | N | O | P | O |
February 26, 2008 | Cleveland, Ohio | MSNBC | O | P | O | O | N | O | P | O |
April 13, 2008 | Grantham, Pennsylvania | CNN | O | P | O | O | O | O | P | O |
April 16, 2008 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ABC | O | P | O | O | O | O | P | O |
Key: P denotes candidate participated in debate; N denotes candidate was not invited; A denotes candidate absent but was invited; O denotes candidate was out of the race.
Debates[]
April 26, 2007 – Orangeburg, South Carolina, South Carolina State University[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 35.2% |
Obama | 25.5% |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/First_debate_%28477372277%29.jpg/220px-First_debate_%28477372277%29.jpg)
The first Democratic debate was in the evening of April 26, 2007, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, at South Carolina State University. State party chairman Joe Erwin said that he chose South Carolina State because it is a historically black college, noting that African-Americans have been the "most loyal" Democrats in the state.[9] The debate was 90 minutes, with a 60-second time limit for answers, and no opening or closing statements.[10] It was broadcast via cable television and online video streaming by MSNBC.[11] The debate was moderated by Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News.[citation needed]
The Iraq War was the major topic of the discussion, and all of the candidates strongly criticized President George W. Bush.[10] Although, some public fanfare occurred initially,[12] pundits considered the debate unspectacular, and no single "breakout" candidate was identified.[12][13]
A poll of 403 South Carolinians who watched the debate indicated a belief that Obama won the debate, with support of 31% compared to Clinton's 24%.[14] However, journalists Tom Baldwin, of The Times, and Ewen MacAskill, of The Guardian, both reported that Clinton appeared to retain her frontrunner status.[15] Political pundits such as Chris Matthews, Howard Fineman, Keith Olbermann and Joe Scarborough declared Clinton the most "presidential", stating that her appearance and answers were: succinct, within the time limit, unambiguous and thorough.[citation needed]
The opinions of pundits varied in regard to the third-polled candidate, Former Senator John Edwards (D-NC), with some asserting that his performance was weak and not akin to the energetic performance that he portrayed during his first election campaign in 2003.[citation needed]
June 3, 2007 - CNN 7:00pm EDT - Goffstown, New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College[]
WMUR-TV, CNN and the New Hampshire Union Leader hosted both Democratic and Republican debates in the Manchester, New Hampshire area, at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown. The Democratic debate was Sunday, June 3, started at 7 p.m. EDT, was commercial free and lasted two hours. The moderator was Wolf Blitzer, host of Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer and The Situation Room.[16] Blitzer was joined by Tom Fahey of the New Hampshire Union Leader and Scott Spradling from the local television station WMUR.[citation needed]
The first half of the debate was a directed question-and-answer session, with candidates questioned while standing at the podiums, as in the first debate, responding to questions from Fahey and Spradling. Participating candidates were Obama, Edwards, Clinton, Kucinich, Gravel, Dodd, Richardson and R. Biden, Jr.[17][18][19]
For the second half of the debate, the candidates sat in chairs while New Hampshire live audience members—mostly undecided Democratic and independent voters—asked questions that were then deflected by Blitzer to specific candidates.[citation needed]
Clinton, Obama, and Richardson after the June 3, 2007 debate
Clinton speaks to supporters following the debate
John Edwards at the debate
June 28, 2007 - PBS - Washington, D.C., Howard University[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/All-American_Presidential_Forum_on_PBS_%28662144310%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/400px-All-American_Presidential_Forum_on_PBS_%28662144310%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
PBS held and televised a debate at Howard University, a historically black college. The moderator was Tavis Smiley and all eight candidates discussed a range of topics, including education, poverty, unemployment, racial discrimination, and health in the black community.[20][21]
July 12, 2007–Detroit, Michigan[]
Attended by all eight candidates, this candidate forum was held during the NAACP convention. An on-stage conversation between Edwards and Clinton was overheard—due to activated microphones—in which they talked about eventually ceasing the participation of non-frontrunner candidates in future debates.[22]
July 23, 2007 - CNN - Charleston, South Carolina, The Citadel military college[]
![2007 YouTube Dems.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/2007_YouTube_Dems.jpg/150px-2007_YouTube_Dems.jpg)
CNN and YouTube held this debate on the campus of The Citadel. All questions were selected from, and posed as videos submitted via, YouTube by members of the public; the debate was moderated by Anderson Cooper of Anderson Cooper 360. YouTube and Google streamed the event live.[23] It was also simulcast on CNN en Español.
August 4, 2007 – Chicago, Illinois[]
The Yearly Kos Presidential Leadership Forum was an informal discussion attended by seven of the eight presidential candidates, with Biden not attending due to votes in Congress. New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai, DailyKos Contributing Editor /Fellow Joan McCarter and author and blogger Jeffrey Feldman moderated. The debate was broken down into Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy, and Philosophy and Leadership. Candidates were allotted 90 seconds for each question with 45 second rebuttals, although the time limits were not strictly enforced. After the debate, breakout sessions were held where convention goers could question each candidate individually.
All candidates and moderators on stage
Edwards and Clinton during the debate
(from left to right) Edwards, Clinton and Obama during the debate
August 7, 2007 – Chicago, Illinois[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 41.0% |
Obama | 22.2% |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/AFL-CIO_Presidential_Forum_%281044684750%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/250px-AFL-CIO_Presidential_Forum_%281044684750%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/AFL-CIO_forum_backstage_pass.jpg/163px-AFL-CIO_forum_backstage_pass.jpg)
The AFL-CIO Working Families Vote Presidential Forum was held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois in front of approximately 15,000 union members and their families. The questions in the debate were to be used to determine if and whom the AFL-CIO would endorse in the Democratic primary. MSNBC host Keith Olbermann hosted the debate, which featured seven of the candidates. Mike Gravel was excluded because he failed to submit a written questionnaire by the August 6 deadline. Gravel claimed that the questionnaire "fell through the cracks" and requested to be invited to the debate anyway, which was rejected by the AFL-CIO. Questionnaires were also sent to Republicans but no candidates responded.[24]
- CFR Transcript
- Chicago Sun-Times Transcript
- New York Times Transcript
- MSNBC Video
- Video with Closed Caption
Members of Chicago's IBEW Local 134
Audience of approximately 15,000 union members
John Edwards backstage at Soldier Field before the debate
Dodd, Edwards, and Kucinich during the debate
Dodd and Edwards during the debate
August 9, 2007 – Los Angeles, California[]
![2007 HRC LOGO presidential forum.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/2007_HRC_LOGO_presidential_forum.jpg)
LGBT network Logo hosted this debate focusing on LGBT issues, moderated by Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese and singer Melissa Etheridge. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel participated. Mike Gravel was originally to be excluded from this debate, it being cited that his campaign had not raised enough money to qualify for participation. Rallying from Gravel's supporters reversed this decision. Dodd and Biden both stated scheduling conflicts prevented them from attending. Logo invited the Republicans presidential candidates to a similar debate, but all the candidates declined.[25]
August 19, 2007 – Des Moines, Iowa[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/John_Edwards_Arrives_at_Drake_University_for_the_1st_Democratic_Presidential_Debate_in_Iowa_%281170485769%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-John_Edwards_Arrives_at_Drake_University_for_the_1st_Democratic_Presidential_Debate_in_Iowa_%281170485769%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
ABC News in conjunction with the Iowa Democratic Party held a debate streamed on This Week moderated by George Stephanopoulos.[26] ABC has been accused of spinning the results of the debate due to extreme differences in the time allotted to candidates.
- ABC Transcript
- ABC Video (incomplete, edited, and out of chronological order)
- Video with Closed Caption
September 9, 2007 – Coral Gables, Florida, University of Miami[]
Univision hosted a forum, Destino 2008, in Spanish at the University of Miami's Bank United Center in Coral Gables, Florida and moderated by Univision's anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas.[27][28] Joe Biden did not participate in the debate.
Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd objected to the debate being conducted in English with simultaneous translation in Spanish. Both are fluent in Spanish but it was perceived to cause an unfair advantage for the two. The TV audience of 2.2 million was also the debate season's youngest, at an average of 36 years old.
September 12, 2007[]
Yahoo!, in partnership with The Huffington Post, produced a "mashup" debate with Charlie Rose interviewing the candidates. Segments were recorded on September 12, with the "mashups" posted on September 13.[29]
September 20, 2007 – Davenport, Iowa[]
PBS held a forum focused on domestic issues, specifically health care and financial security. It was moderated by Judy Woodruff, and was a joint venture between IPTV and AARP.[30] Obama rejected PBS's invitation, and Gravel and Kucinich were excluded from the debate because they did not have at least one paid staff member or office space in Iowa.
September 26, 2007 – Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth College[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 40.5% |
Obama | 23.3% |
MSNBC held a debate at Dartmouth College in conjunction with New England Cable News and New Hampshire Public Radio.[31] The moderator was Tim Russert.
Chris Matthews reporting from The Green
David Gregory reporting from The Green
Supporters of various candidates gathered on The Green
Kucinich with supporters following the debate
October 30, 2007 - NBC 9:00pm EDT - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Drexel University[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 45.0% |
Obama | 22.1% |
The debate was held at Drexel University and was televised by NBC News. All candidates except former Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel attended the debate. It was announced on October 19 that Senator Gravel did not meet the polling requirements for the debate, though the DNC did not specifically say what the requirements were; Gravel has suggested that GE, which owns NBC and is a "war-profiteer," conspired to exclude him from the event after, during the previous debate, he questioned Hillary Clinton's signing a resolution that would possibly facilitate entering war with Iran. Instead of attending the debate, Senator Gravel staged an event at the nearby World Cafe Live.[32]
Seven Democratic presidential candidates participated in a two-hour debate starting at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0100 GMT Wednesday) and telecast on MSNBC and streamed live on msnbc.com.[33] The moderators of the debate were Tim Russert and Brian Williams. Nielson Ratings estimated the debate attracted 2.5 million viewers.[34]
Democratic rivals focused their attacks on Senator Clinton, and were particularly critical of her response to a proposal from New York Governor Eliot L. Spitzer which would allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.[35] After the debate, moderator Tim Russert was criticized for asking a misleading question to Senator Clinton regarding the release of her records as first lady. Tim Russert raised the issue of a letter which Bill Clinton wrote in which the former president ordered "a ban" on the release of his records by the National Archives. Following the exchange, President Clinton's records representative Bruce Lindesey released a statement clarifying the request, saying that "Bill Clinton has not asked that records related to communications with Senator Clinton be withheld," saying the "Archives is in the process of making records available as quickly as they can."[36]
- NYT transcript from the Federal News Service
- MSNBC Video
- Video with Closed Caption from Taudiobook.com
- The Creepy Sleepy podcast from Twitter and behind the scenes at the debate.
November 15, 2007 - CNN - Las Vegas, Nevada[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 44.3% |
Obama | 22.6% |
The Nevada Democratic Party hosted a Democratic debate aired on CNN. The moderator was Wolf Blitzer. Former Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel was excluded from the debate,[23] and so held a debate alternative, online at www.ustream.tv where a TiVo system is used to screen the official debate simultaneously. According to Nielsen Media Research, the debate drew a record Cable TV audience for a presidential primary debate, an estimated 4.4 million viewers.[37]
The candidates present at the debate were Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, and John Edwards.
Some commentators have attacked CNN for the debate, calling it biased and poorly handled. Their accusations include claims that the final audience question was planted,[38] that moderator Wolf Blitzer was overly favorable to Hillary Clinton, and that the use of James Carville, a long-time adviser to the Clintons, as a debate commentator was biased.[39][40]
- New York Times transcript and video, from the Federal News Service
- Chicago Sun-Times transcript, from CNN
- Video with Closed Caption, from Taudiobook.com
December 4, 2007 - NPR (radio only) - Des Moines, Iowa[]
![2007 Dems NPR.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/2007_Dems_NPR.jpg/175px-2007_Dems_NPR.jpg)
National Public Radio, in conjunction with Iowa Public Radio, hosted a "radio-only" Democratic Debate. NPR hosts Steve Inskeep, Michele Norris, and Robert Siegel moderated the debate. The debate was broadcast from the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines to NPR stations around the country and was streamed online. All of the major candidates were present other than New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson who was attending the funeral of a Korean war casualty.
Senators Obama and Edwards were given the most speaking time; Senator Gravel, the least.
December 13, 2007 – Johnston, Iowa[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 43.1% |
Obama | 24.6% |
The Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television hosted a Democratic debate in Johnston, Iowa. Six of the eight candidates were invited. Dennis Kucinich was excluded because he had not rented office space in the state. The Register determined “that a person working out of his home did not meet our criteria for a campaign office and full-time paid staff in Iowa.” Mike Gravel was excluded for presumably the same reason.[41]
- This debate was originally scheduled for January 6, 2008, but because the Iowa Caucus was moved up to January 3, 2008, the Des Moines Register moved the debate up to December 13.
- Iowa Public Television video (in full and by segment) and transcript
- NPR Election 2008 - Podcast Direct link to download podcast
- Des Moines Register video (in full and by segment)
- Fox News video (in full only)
- Video with Closed Caption
- CNN Transcript
January 5, 2008 - ABC 8:45pm EST - Goffstown, New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 44.2% |
Obama | 24.2% |
ABC News, WMUR-TV and Facebook jointly hosted back-to-back Democratic and Republican debates from Saint Anselm College on Saturday, January 5—three days before the official first-in-the-nation primary the following Tuesday, January 8—with Charles Gibson acting as moderator.[42] According to Nielsen Media Research, the debate drew the largest televised audience of the primary season with an estimated 9.36 million viewers.[43]
At 8:47 p.m. EST, between the two debates, Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson joined the Republican candidates on the stage at St. Anselm College in greater Manchester.[citation needed] This was the first time all of the major candidates from both parties had been together on stage, as defined by ABC News.[citation needed] ABC News eliminated Democrats Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel from the debate because they did not place first through fourth in Iowa, poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major New Hampshire surveys, or poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major national surveys.[citation needed]
Major topics were introduced with a short news-clip-style video produced by ABC and the candidates were encouraged to interact with each other. One question, "...how much you would spend with the programs you've proposed and the promises you've made.", was inexplicably withdrawn by Gibson at the last second after its introductory video had been shown. Aside from that, the debate ran smoothly. There were commercial breaks before and after each debate. The candidates were seated during the debates.
During the debate, Obama, Clinton, and Edwards all battled over who best exemplified the buzzword of the campaign, "change".[44][45] In one noted exchange, Edwards said that Clinton could not bring change, while he and Obama can. "Any time you speak out powerfully for change, the forces for status quo attack." He made clear that he was referring to Clinton, adding, "I didn't hear these kind of attacks from Senator Clinton while she was ahead. Now that she's not we hear them."[45] Clinton passionately retorted: "Making change is not about what you believe; it's not about a speech you make. It's about working hard. I'm not just running on a promise for change. I'm running on 35 years of change. What we need is somebody who can deliver change. We don't need to be raising false hopes."[45] Obama replied that "The truth is, actually, words do inspire. Words do help people get involved."[46]
At another point in the debate, when one moderator asked Clinton why polls showed she was less "likeable" than other candidates, particularly Obama, she jokingly replied, "Well that hurts my feelings ... but I'll try to go on."[44]
January 15, 2008 - MSNBC 6:00pm PST - Las Vegas, Nevada, College of Southern Nevada[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 42.3% |
Obama | 33.3% |
The Nevada Democratic Party partnered with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and IMPACTO, 100 Black Men of America, and the College of Southern Nevada to hold the second Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas. The debate was telecast live by MSNBC and held at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm Pacific Standard Time.[47][48]
Clinton, Edwards and Obama participated in the debate. Kucinich was originally invited to the debate after meeting publicly announced criteria, but the invitation was retracted after NBC changed its criteria shortly before the event. Kucinich sued for the right to participate in the debate, but after lower courts sided with Kucinich, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of MSNBC.[49] [50]
January 21, 2008 - CNN 8:00pm EST - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 41.6% |
Obama | 33.6% |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Debate_015_%282212559880%29.jpg/220px-Debate_015_%282212559880%29.jpg)
The Congressional Black Caucus and CNN hosted a debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at 8:00 pm EST. This debate set another record for a Cable TV audience with an estimated 4.9 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals Ratings. The participants were Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. The debate, chaired by Wolf Blitzer, had an unusual format; for the last forty minutes the candidates sat down and the debate took a much more casual tone.
January 31, 2008 - CNN 5:00pm PDT - Hollywood, California[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Clinton | 44.6% |
Obama | 36.0% |
The Los Angeles Times, The Politico, and CNN hosted a Democratic debate in Hollywood, California, at the Kodak Theatre.[51][52] The debate set another Cable TV viewing record for a presidential primary debate, with 8,324,000 million total viewers.[53]
This was the final Democratic party-specific debate before Super Tuesday on February 5, 2008. This debate included two candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and started at 5 PM Pacific, ending at 6:30 PM. Topics in this cordial debate included health care, the Iraq War, and immigration.[54]
February 2, 2008 - MTV 6:00pm EST - MTV Myspace Debate[]
![Myspace-MTV Presents Presidential Dialogues You ask. You decide.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Myspace-MTV_Presents_Presidential_Dialogues_You_ask._You_decide.jpg)
MTV and Myspace hosted a cross-party candidate dialogue Live on February 2, 2008 at 6PM EST/3PM PST on MTV. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ron Paul, and Mike Huckabee attended the forum. John McCain and Mitt Romney were invited but did not attend. Mike Gravel was not invited to attend due to little support in the state primaries and caucuses.
February 21, 2008 - CNN 7:00pm CST - Austin, Texas, University of Texas at Austin[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Obama | 44.6% |
Clinton | 43.0% |
CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party jointly hosted a debate between Obama and Clinton on February 21 at 7:00 CST on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. The debate was rebroadcast at 10:30 in Spanish. Questions focused heavily on illegal immigration and the economy, among other issues.[55]
February 26, 2008 - MSNBC 9:00pm EST - Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland State University[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Obama | 48.3% |
Clinton | 41.7% |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/David_Axelrod_at_Cleveland_Democratic_debate.jpg/220px-David_Axelrod_at_Cleveland_Democratic_debate.jpg)
NBC News held a debate between Clinton and Obama on February 26 at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. The debate was broadcast live at 9:00 EST on MSNBC. It was moderated by Brian Williams with Tim Russert.[56] CNN had proposed with the Ohio Democratic Party a debate on February 27 which was cancelled.[57]
April 13, 2008 - CNN 8:00pm EDT - Grantham, Pennsylvania, Messiah College[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Obama | 48.0% |
Clinton | 41.6% |
Clinton and Obama appeared at the Compassion Forum, discussing faith, values, and religion on April 13, 2008 at 8PM EDT at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. The forum was a question-and-answer session in which CNN commentator Campbell Brown and Jon Meacham of Newsweek as well as select members of the audience, posed questions about faith and politics to Clinton and Obama. Both appeared separately.[58] The forum was broadcast live on CNN.[59] The event was organized by the religious organization Faith in Public Life.
April 16, 2008 - ABC 8:00pm EDT - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[]
Candidate | Polls[8] |
---|---|
Obama | 49.0% |
Clinton | 41.0% |
Both Clinton and Obama appeared in a debate moderated by ABC News on April 16, 2008, at 8 PM EDT at the National Constitution Center.[60] The debate was nationally televised at 8 PM Eastern and Pacific (tape delayed) and 7 PM Central/Mountain (tape delayed). This was the second debate shown nationally on over-the-air television.[61]
Moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos were criticized by viewers, bloggers and media critics for the poor quality of their questions.[62][63]
During the debate neither Obama or Clinton would answer whether or not they would name the other as their running mate.[64]
Some of the questions that many viewers said they considered irrelevant when measured against the faltering economy or the Iraq war, like why Senator Barack Obama did not wear an American flag pin on his lapel, the incendiary comments of Obama's former pastor, or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's assertion that she had to duck sniper fire in Bosnia more than a decade ago.[62] The questions from the moderators were considered to be focused on campaign gaffes and training most of their ammunition on Obama,[63] to which Stephanopoulos responded by saying that "Senator Obama [was] the front-runner" and the questions were "not inappropriate or irrelevant at all."[62][63]
- Official web site
- New York Times transcript
- Council on Foreign Relations transcript
- Video with Closed Caption
References[]
- ^ Fouhy, Beth (2008-01-03). "Dodd Drops Presidential Bid". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-01-24.[dead link]
- ^ Fouhy, Beth (2008-01-03). "Biden to Abandon Presidential Bid". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-01-24.[dead link]
- ^ Pickler, Nedra (2008-01-19). "AP NewsBreak: Richardson Ends Bid". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ Milicia, Joe (2008-01-24). "Democrat Kucinich Quits White House Race". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ "Edwards to End Presidential Bid". New York Times. 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-01-30.[dead link]link dead 2008-03-11
- ^ "Democrat Gravel switches to Libertarian". Associated Press. 2008-03-26. Archived from the original on 2008-03-30. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ "Clinton suspends campaign, endorses Obama". Associated Press. 2008-06-08. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Election 2008 - Democratic Presidential Nomination". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ^ S.C. Democratic Chairman Says Debate Location Carefully Chosen, WYFF, Apr. 25, 2007
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Iraq dominates first Democratic debate". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
- ^ Democrats seek to seize initiative on Iraq, NBC News, Apr. 27, 2007
- ^ Jump up to: a b "No Winners. No Losers". Slate. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
- ^ No Breakout Candidate at Democratic Debate, ABC News, Apr. 26, 2007
- ^ Who Won? S.C. Democratic Debate Poll Results, WYFF, Apr. 26, 2007
- ^ Clinton edges ahead after first Democratic debate, The Times, Apr. 27, 2007; Hillary Clinton shines in Democratic candidates' debate, Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, Apr. 27, 2007
- ^ Union Leader - Primary calendar, New Hampshire Union Leader, Apr. 12, 2007
- ^ "Contenders clash on Iraq, immigration, health care". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ Kornblut, Anne; Balz, Dan (June 4, 2007). "Democrats Focus on Iraq In Contentious Second Debate". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ Fouhy, Beth (June 3, 2007). "Democrats Clash on Iraq, Health Care - The Huffington Post". Huffington Post.
- ^ "Transcript of the Third Democratic Primary Presidential Debate". The New York Times. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- ^ "Black voters to figure prominently in 2008 race". People's Weekly World. 2007-07-05. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- ^ Kornblut, Anne (July 23, 2007). "Officially the First, Democrats' Debate Feels Like Anything But". The Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
- ^ Jump up to: a b The Democratic Party | DNC Announces Dates, Media Sponsors and Locations for Sanctioned Debates Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Memmott, Mark (2007-07-17). "AFL-CIO hosting forum for seven of the Democratic contenders Aug. 7". USA Today On Politics Blog. USA Today. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff & Wires. GOP Candidates In New Debate, But Reject Gay Invite Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, 365gay.com (August 5, 2007). Retrieved on September 9, 2007.
- ^ www.ovaloffice2008.com Archived 2007-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Candidatos presidenciales en Univision : Un debate en español para los hispanos - Foros y Debates Presidenciales - Elecciones 2008 Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Learmonth, Michael (August 14, 2007). "Hopefuls agree to Univision debate". Variety.
- ^ "Yahoo's Presidential 'Mashup Debate' Won't Support Mashups". Wired. September 12, 2007. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009.
- ^ PBS | Ombudsman | Debates Are On; Debaters Are Off
- ^ "Union Leader - Manchester, New Hampshire". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ The debate is on. Here. Tonight. | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/30/2007
- ^ Democrats target Clinton’s vote on Iran - The Debates - nbcnews.com
- ^ "Democrats are coming to town". ReviewJournal.com. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "Campaign News: Rivals Tee Off On Clinton At Philadelphia Debate". U.S. News and World Report. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
- ^ ABC News: Clinton Counsel Defends Archive Letter. November 2, 2007.
- ^ "Democratic Hopefuls Deliver Record Ratings - 11/16/2007 2:09:00 PM - Multichannel News". Archived from the original on 2007-12-22. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ^ ""Diamonds v. Pearls" Student Blasts CNN (Updated With CNN Response)". Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ Bosman, Julie (2007-11-17). "A Clinton Friend's Role Sets Off Intense Criticism of CNN and a Re-examination". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ Kornacki, Steve (2007-11-25). "CLINTON NEWS NETWORK". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2021-05-10 – via New York Post.
- ^ theHill.com Newscenter Staff & Wires. Kucinich booted from Iowa debate, theHill.com (December 12, 2007). Retrieved on December 14, 2007.
- ^ ABC News Political Radar: ABC News, WMUR-TV and Facebook Host Back-To-Back Debates in New Hampshire November 26, 2007
- ^ ABC Medianet[permanent dead link]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Kevin Landrigan (2008-01-06). "Change is hot topic at feisty Democratic debate". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Mark Memmott, Jill Lawrence (2008-01-06). "Edwards: He & Obama share a 'conviction alliance'". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ Patrick Healy, Jeff Zelaney (2008-01-06). "At Debate, Two Rivals Go After Defiant Clinton". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Nevada State Democratic Party - Nevada Democratic Party and MSNBC Announce Debate". Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- ^ Your chance to ask the candidates a question - Politics - nbcnews.com
- ^ Stelter, Brian (2008-01-15). "NBC Wins Battle Over Debate". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (2008-01-15). "NBC Fights to Keep Kucinich Out of Debate". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ "The California Majority Report // California Democratic Party Officially Sanctions CNN, Los Angeles Times, POLITICO Presidential Debate to be Held in Los Angeles on January 31". Archived from the original on 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ All Things CNN: CNN Debate Schedule
- ^ mediabistro.com: TVNewser
- ^ "Clinton, Obama debate with less finger-pointing - CNN.com". CNN. February 1, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "DEBATE LIVE BLOG: Clinton! Obama! The rumble in Austin! | redblueamerica.com". Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ^ MSNBC - Hardball with Chris Matthews Monday through Friday on MSNBC 5 and 7 PM EST - Join the Hardballers Front Page
- ^ Clinton, Obama to face off in Cleveland debate Feb. 26 - OPENERS - Ohio Politics Blog by The Plain Dealer
- ^ "CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ The Compassion Forum at Messiah College
- ^ KYW Newsradio 1060 Philadelphia - Constitution Center to Host Clinton-Obama Debate
- ^ Gough, Paul J. (March 21, 2008). "The Hollywood Reporter". Archived from the original on April 20, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Steinberg, Jacques (2008-04-18). "Who Lost the Debate? Moderators, Many Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Kurtz, Howard (2008-04-18). "The Backlash Against ABC". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- ^ Venkataraman, Nitya "Philly Fight Night: Dems Spar Over Electability" ABC News 2008-04-17
External links[]
- 2008 United States presidential debates
- 2008 United States Democratic presidential primaries
- Democratic Party presidential debates