Kerry, Bush camps settle debate details

By TERENCE HUNT
The Associated Press

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The two campaigns essentially went along with recommendations by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, except that the topic for the first debate will be foreign policy and homeland security rather than the economy as the commission had suggested.

The final debate, which the commission had said should be about foreign policy, will be about the economy.

Details of the debates were announced by former Secretary of State James Baker, the chief negotiator for Bush, and attorney Vernon Jordan for Kerry.

The first debate will be Sept. 30 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.; the second one — with the town-hall style format — at Washington University in St. Louis on Oct. 8; and the third at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., on Oct. 13.

There also will be a vice-presidential debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland on Oct. 5.

The debates All debates will start at 6 p.m. PDT Presidential Sept. 30: Topic: foreign policy and homeland security; Jim Lehrer as moderator Oct. 8: Town-hall format on all subjects; Charles Gibson as moderator Oct. 13: The economy; Bob Schieffer as moderator Vice presidential Oct. 5: All subjects; Gwen Ifill as moderator The Associated Press, Reuters, Commission on Presidential Debates

Details of the debate agreement were outlined in a 32-page document.

Kerry's campaign agreed to the commission's proposal for venues, dates and moderators in July. Bush's campaign at first sought to limit the scope to two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate, sources said. The two campaigns also agreed to the commission's selection of moderators: Jim Lehrer of PBS for the first, Charles Gibson of ABC for the second, Bob Schieffer of CBS for the third and Gwen Ifill of PBS for the vice-presidential debate.

The commission invited only the two major-party candidates. In the agreement, Bush and Kerry said that should circumstances change, and a third-party candidate be added, the candidate would have to abide by terms of their agreement. As of now, no third-party candidate, including Ralph Nader, meets the commission's criteria for inclusion.

Bush and Kerry agreed not to engage in any other debates, or debatelike events, sponsored by other organizations.

The agreement also requires them to remain behind their respective podiums and not walk around during the first and third debates.

The final agreement on the town-hall session calls for a live audience of between 100 and 150 people who describe themselves as likely voters who are either "soft" Bush supporters or "soft" Kerry supporters — with an equal number from each group. Audience members will be selected by the Gallup Organization. Members of the audience who want to ask questions must submit them in advance to the moderator for screening.

With a guaranteed television audience of tens of millions of people, the debates could be pivotal given the closeness of the race. National polls are mixed, with some showing a dead heat and others showing a modest lead for the president.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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