1996 United States presidential debates
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The 1996 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 1996 presidential election. Two debates were held between Republican candidate, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and Democratic incumbent President Bill Clinton, the major candidates. One debate was held with their vice presidential running mates, Jack Kemp and Al Gore. All three debates were sponsored by the non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has organized presidential debates since its establishment in 1987.
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1996 United States vice presidential debate | ||||||||||||||
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The vice presidential debate was held on October 9 at the Mahaffey Theater. The presidential debates were held on October 6 at The Bushnell and October 16 at University of San Diego, ahead of the November 5 Election Day. Jim Lehrer moderated each of the presidential debates. In each of the first two debates, the candidates received questions in turn with two minutes to answer and a 60-second rebuttal. The third and final debate featured a town hall meeting format.
Debate schedule
edit1996 United States presidential election debates | ||||||||||||||||
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No. | Date & time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
Key: P Participant N Non-invitee |
Democratic | Republican | ||||||||||||||
President Bill Clinton of Arkansas |
Senator Bob Dole of Kansas | |||||||||||||||
1 | Sunday, October 6, 1996 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1] |
The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts | Hartford, Connecticut | Jim Lehrer of PBS | P | P | ||||||||||
2 | Wednesday, October 16, 1996 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1] |
University of San Diego | San Diego, California | P | P | |||||||||||
1996 United States vice presidential debate | ||||||||||||||||
No. | Date & time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
Key: P Participant N Non-invitee |
Democratic | Republican | ||||||||||||||
Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee |
Secretary Jack Kemp of California | |||||||||||||||
VP | Wednesday, October 9, 1996 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1] |
Mahaffey Theater | St. Petersburg, Florida | Jim Lehrer of PBS | P | P |
Participant selection
editIn 1996, the following six candidates achieved ballot access in enough states to mathematically win the election via the Electoral College:
Presidential candidate | Party | Ballot access |
---|---|---|
Bob Dole | Republican | 50+DC |
Bill Clinton | Democratic | 50+DC |
Ross Perot | Reform | 50+DC |
Harry Browne | Libertarian | 50+DC |
John Hagelin | Natural Law | 43 |
Howard Phillips | Constitution | 41 |
Unlike in 1992, Ross Perot was excluded from the debates in the 1996 campaign. Paul Kirk, co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates stated that "Our decision was made on the basis that only President Clinton and Senator Dole have a realistic chance, as set forth in our criteria, to be elected the next president of the United States."[2]
Only Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and President Bill Clinton met the CPD selection criteria for any of the presidential debates. As a result, only Jack Kemp and Al Gore met the criteria for the vice presidential debate.
1996 was originally to have three presidential debates, with the first scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at Washington University in St. Louis. However, Clinton's campaign objected to the date, noting it was one day after he was set to address the United Nations, and argued that it left him without sufficient time to prepare.[3][4]
October 6: First presidential debate (The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts)
editFirst presidential debate | |
---|---|
Date(s) | October 6, 1996 |
Duration | 90 minutes |
Venue | The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts |
Location | Hartford, Connecticut |
Participants | Bill Clinton Bob Dole |
Moderator(s) | Jim Lehrer of PBS |
The first presidential debate was held in the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday, October 6, 1996.
Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour posed the questions for each candidate.
Transcript
edit- Debate transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.
Viewership
editAn estimated 46.1 million viewers tuned into the debates.
October 9: Vice presidential debate (Mahaffey Theater)
editVice presidential debate | |
---|---|
Date(s) | October 9, 1996 |
Duration | 90 minutes |
Venue | Mahaffey Theater |
Location | St. Petersburg, Florida |
Participants | Al Gore Jack Kemp |
Moderator(s) | Jim Lehrer of PBS |
The only vice presidential debate was held in the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday, October 9, 1996.
Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour posed the questions for each candidate.
Transcript
edit- Debate transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.
Viewership
editAn estimated 26.6 million viewers tuned into the debate.
October 16: Second presidential debate (University of San Diego)
editSecond presidential debate | |
---|---|
Date(s) | October 16, 1996 |
Duration | 90 minutes |
Venue | University of San Diego |
Location | San Diego, California |
Participants | Bill Clinton Bob Dole |
Moderator(s) | Jim Lehrer of PBS |
The second and final presidential debate was held at the Shiley Theater on the campus of University of San Diego in San Diego, California on Wednesday, October 16, 1996.
Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour moderated the town hall style debate featuring the questions asked by members of the audience:
Transcript
edit- Debate transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.
Viewership
editAn estimated 36.3 million viewers tuned into the debate.
Third-party debates
edit- October 7, 1996 - C-SPAN sponsored a third-party presidential debate moderated by Jennifer Laszlo. In attendance for this debate were Libertarian candidate Harry Browne, Constitution Party candidate Howard Phillips, and Natural Law Party candidate John Hagelin. Ross Perot declined the invitation to attend.
- October 23, 1996 - C-SPAN sponsored a third-party presidential debate moderated by Bill Shen. In attendance for this debate were Libertarian candidate Harry Browne, Constitution Party candidate Howard Phillips, and Natural Law Party candidate John Hagelin. Ross Perot declined the invitation to attend.
References
edit- ^ a b c "CPD: 1996 Debates". www.debates.org. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
- ^ "Debate Commission Excludes Perot". cnn.com. 1996-09-17.
- ^ Lewis, Neil A. (September 17, 1996). "Clinton and Dole Plan Debate Format as Perot Ruling Nears". The New York Times. p. A19. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ "Sept. 25, 1996 – Presidential Debate (Canceled)". Washington University in St. Louis. September 1, 2016.