Topic: Domestic policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: University of Denver in Denver, Colorado (Tickets)
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney
Moderator: Jim Lehrer (Host of NewsHour on PBS)
The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate.
The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.
As Americans await the first debate between the presidential candidates, several comments and questions come to mine. First off, what we will see tonight is not a real ‘debate.’ That leaves the question, well, what is it?
How do we determine who won the debate? It seems to me that the person we like the best will “win.” Who decides who wins and what is the criteria?
Will the winner have zapped the most zingers? Will the winner have the cutest answers? The quickest answers? How will you determine who won?
The debate will be on all major channels.
