This year, the US took a major step back in presidential debates, with the Republican presidential candidates initially refusing to debate on ABC News. He eventually agreedDemocratic candidates are considering accepting a debate offer from Fox News, as the networks are seen as biased toward one side or the other. The vice presidential debate is scheduled for October 1.
All of this could have been avoided, which is why the Commission on Presidential Debates was created in the first place. Founded in 1987 This is to prevent such uncertainty as to whether a debate will take place.
Many Americans may not remember what presidential debates looked like before 1988. For over a century and a half, presidential candidates hadn’t debated at all; it wasn’t until 1960 that presidential debates began.
For the next quarter century, whether the debates would be held annually remained an open question. The League of Women Voters hosted some debates, television stations hosted others. There was no structure, organization, or predictability as to when or how the debates would be held from election to election.
The Commission changed all that. The Commission on Presidential Debates, formed by representatives of the two major political parties, institutionalized the presidential debate. First, the venues and dates for the debates were set a year in advance. The venues were various college campuses across the country. For example, this year’s debates were scheduled at universities in Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Utah. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats benefited from the venues.
The debate modes were selected by a committee, consisting of respected journalists such as Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill of PBS, Bernard Shaw and Candy Crowley of CNN, and Martha Raddatz of ABC. The rules of the debate were largely set by the committee, not the candidates.
The CPD’s example gave rise to state-level debate commissions. Indiana, Utah, Ohio Debate panels were established in Washington, and city-level committees in New York City. Thanks to the Chicago Democrats, debate at various levels of government became more institutionalized. This gave voters the confidence to see candidates running for local and state office in a professional, neutral forum.
The downside of the CPD is that the bar for participation is high. Only one third-party candidate, Ross Perot, has ever participated in the debates. Other third-party candidates, such as Ralph Nader (Green Party) and Ron Paul (Liberal Party), were barred from the debates because they failed to receive 15 percent support in national polls.
Still, the debates sponsored by the commission had become such an institution that invited presidential candidates had not declined to attend for more than 30 years. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission canceled the debates due to a candidate (Donald Trump). Refused to participate in virtual debate It is designed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
What caused the committee to disappear this year? Two years ago, the Republican National Committee Decline to participate in the discussionAnd earlier this year, President Biden’s campaign said his campaign chairman Not to debate Donald Trump in committee debates.
Both actions were detrimental to voters at large. The Commission guaranteed voters debates that were substantive, non-partisan, and independent of the candidates’ campaigns. Candidates can now pit one network against another to gain an advantage in the debates. As with Trump’s proposed Fox News debates, candidates can insist that the debates take place in their favorite neighborhoods.
The commission may be resurrected later this year. It has proposed holding presidential debates this fall. This was explained in a press release.: [the commission’s] “Founding one remains attractive. A neutral organization with no other role during a general election is well positioned to provide a format that focuses on the issues that matter most to candidates and the American people.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has the opportunity to launch an entirely new campaign, one that is not bound by President Biden’s decisions.
One of her actions could be to return the Commission on Presidential Debates to its role as debate host.
She could turn down Fox News and ABC News and instead accept the commission’s offer to run the kind of highly professional and well-respected debate shows they have excelled at for more than 30 years.
If she does, she will not only help restore neutral, professional debates this year, but she will also demonstrate that the Commission on Presidential Debates is a much-needed institution for the future in the midst of intense political polarization.
Richard Davis is founder of the Utah Debate Commission and professor emeritus of political science at Brigham Young University.
