The Presidential Debates
Two-Party Debates
BY Josh Israel | September 18, 2008
On the night of September 30, 2004, few of the estimated 62.4 million viewers watching President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry square off on national television likely took any notice when moderator Jim Lehrer announced, “These debates are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.” Many voters tuning in for arguably the most important 90 minutes of the race probably didn’t know what the Commission is, either: a largely secretive tax-exempt organization, created and run by former chairmen of the two major parties, funded by a small group of unidentified major donors, and designed, it seems, to exclude nearly all third-party candidates.
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