The General Election!

Presidential Debates & Their Role in Elections

WHO: the two main candidates (almost always of the 2 largest parties)

WHAT: televised (since 1960) and radio broadcasted debates that cover controversial issues of the time; they are known to make or break candidates

WHEN: late in the election cycle, after the political parties have nominated their candidates

WHERE: in a large hall/meeting space, often in a university, with an audience of United States citizens

WHY: they provide direct Q&A insight into each candidate's views, platforms, and plans for the presidency

The Rules of the Game

• A coin toss determines who gets to answer the first question
• Once a question is asked, the candidate has 2 minutes to answer the question
• Then, the opposing candidate has about 1 minute for rebuttal
• The discussion can be extended by 30 seconds per candidate
• Miscellaneous regulations/agreements are outlined between the candidates regarding things like camera angles, hand shakes, temperature of the hall, and what type of paper for note taking is permissible

LISTEN to this NPR broadcast of Talk of the Nation that discusses the rules and regulations of the 2004 presidential debates!

THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

-strong focus on foreign policy in general

-Kerry accused Bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq

-Said he would lead stronger alliances and have an international summit of allies

-Said we could train the Iraqi forces to defend themselves better

-"I will hunt down and kill the terrorists, wherever they are."

-focused on how Afghanistan should be the center/focus of the war rather than Iraq

It appeared that Kerry "won" the debates according to polls and political analysts, which strengthened his campaign in the final weeks of the election cycle. Although Kerry faired well in the debates, it ultimately wasn't enough for him to win the presidency.

John Kerry's Overall Strategy

It appears that John Kerry mainly used the 50-state strategy in the 2004 general election campaign, trying to accumulate as many country-wide votes as possible, rather than focusing as much on swing states

• " Mary Beth Cahill, the manager of Senator John Kerry's campaign, said, 'We have said all along that for us, this is a delegate race, and we're going to try to accumulate as many delegates as possible.' " --The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/26/us/2004-campaign-strategy-preparing-go-extra-rounds-candidates-set-their-priorities.html?scp=4&sq=john%20kerry%202004%20strategy&st=cse
• "In the homestretch of his presidential campaign, Mr. Kerry has pivoted from raising questions about Mr. Bush's character to trying to add up for voters, in attention-taxing arithmetic, the effects of the president's policies -- and say just how bad four more years of Mr. Bush would be for them." --The New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E5DD143DF935A15753C1A9629C8B63&scp=8&sq=john%20kerry%202004%20strategy&st=cse#

FINAL VOTE TALLY ON ELECTION NIGHT

Kerry: Electoral votes- 251, popular vote- 48.27%

Bush: Electoral votes- 286, popular vote- 50.73%

The election results were fairly expectable. Only three states changed allegiance: New Mexico and Iowa voted Democratic in 2000, but Republican in 2004. New Hampshire voted Republican in 2000, but Democratic in 2004. However, there was controversy over Ohio. Some argued that if voting in Ohio had been conducted fairly that Kerry would have won the state and possibly the election, but Kerry decided to not dispute Bush's win.