"For two of the three presidential debates, and the vice presidential debate, there will be a single moderator who will pose questions to each of the candidates. And the opposite candidate will have a chance to respond to what the first candidate who answers the question says. The thinking is [that] by having a moderator there, it is a way to control the debate to make sure that the questions get answered fairly," said Nelson.
The two moderated debates are separated into domestic and foreign policy. The third is done in a so-called "town hall" format where citizens ask questions on any category.
Today’s televised debates have been a part of every presidential election since 1976, but also took place in 1960, when Democratic Senator John Kennedy and the Republican Vice President, Richard Nixon, squared off.
One candidate who used the debates to great effect was Republican Ronald Reagan. In 1980, he posed a question that some say helped to defeat the incumbent, Democratic President Jimmy Carter.
"I think [that] when you make that [voting] decision, it might be well if you ask yourself 'Are you better off [today] than you were four years ago?'" said Reagan.
These debates also can be part of a candidate’s own undoing. In his 1976 debates with Democrat Jimmy Carter - at the height of the Cold War - Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford made a stunning misstatement.
“There is no Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration,” said Ford.
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2013-11-25
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2013-11-25