2000 United States presidential debates

The United States presidential election debates were held during the 2000 presidential election. Three debates were held between Republican candidate, Texas Governor George W. Bush and Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore, the major candidates. One debate was held with their vice presidential running mates, Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman. All four debates were sponsored by the non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has organized presidential debates since its establishment in 1987.

2000 United States presidential debates

October 3–17, 2000
 
Nominee George W. Bush Al Gore
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Tennessee
Running mate Richard B. Cheney Joe Lieberman

The vice presidential debate was held on October 5 at Centre College. The presidential debates were held on October 3 at the University of Massachusetts Boston, October 11 at Wake Forest University, and October 17 at Washington University in St. Louis, ahead of the November 7 Election Day. Jim Lehrer moderated each of the presidential debates. In each of the first two debates, the candidates received questions in turn with two minutes to answer and a 60-second rebuttal. The third and final debate featured a town hall meeting format.

Debate schedule

 No.Date & TimeHostLocationModeratorParticipants
Key:
 P  Participant.   N  Non-invitee.  
Democratic Republican
Vice President
Al Gore
of Tennessee
Governor
George W. Bush
of Texas
Tuesday, October 3, 2000
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1]
University of Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts Jim Lehrer P P
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1]
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, North Carolina P P
Tuesday, October 17, 2000
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1]
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri P P
2000 United States vice presidential debate
 No.Date & TimeHostLocationModeratorParticipants
Key:
 P  Participant.   N  Non-invitee.  
Democratic Republican
Senator
Joe Lieberman
of Connecticut
Former Secretary of Defense
Dick Cheney
of Wyoming
VP  Thursday, October 5, 2000
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT[1]
Centre College Danville, Kentucky Bernard Shaw P P

Participant selection

In 2000, the following eight candidates achieved ballot access in enough states to mathematically win the election via the Electoral College:

Presidential Candidate Party Ballot access
George W. Bush Republican 50+DC
Al Gore Democratic 50+DC
Harry Browne Libertarian 49+DC
Pat Buchanan Reform 49
Ralph Nader Green 43+DC
Howard Phillips Constitution 41
John Hagelin Natural Law 38

Responding to criticism received from the exclusion of Ross Perot in the 1996 campaign, the Commission on Presidential Debates adjusted the criteria used to invite candidates, announcing on January 6, 2000 that third-party candidates would have to reach 15 percent in pre-debate polls to receive an invitation.

Only Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore met the CPD selection criteria for any of the presidential debates. As a result, only Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman met the criteria for the vice presidential debate.[2][3][4]

October 3: First presidential debate (University of Massachusetts Boston)

First presidential debate
Date(s)October 3, 2000 (2000-10-03)
VenueUniversity of Massachusetts Boston
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
ParticipantsAl Gore
George W. Bush
Moderator(s)Jim Lehrer of PBS
Vice President Al Gore
Tennessee

The debate was held in the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour posed the questions for each candidate. An estimated 46.6 million viewers tuned into the debate.

October 5: Vice presidential debate (Centre College)

Vice presidential debate
Date(s)October 5, 2000 (2000-10-05)
VenueCentre College
LocationDanville, Kentucky
ParticipantsJoe Lieberman
Dick Cheney
Moderator(s)Bernard Shaw of CNN
2000 Vice-Presidential debate

October 5, 2000
 
Nominee Joe Lieberman Dick Cheney
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Connecticut Wyoming

Dick Cheney, Republican candidate for vice president debated Senator Joe Lieberman, the Democratic candidate for vice president. The debate was held at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The candidates discussed issues such as Medicare, Social Security, economic issues, the surplus, the future of the U.S. military and its decline of morale, and drugs in school and education reform.

Reflecting on the debate in 2016, Lieberman called it one of his proudest moments of the campaign, citing the debate's civil tone.[5]

The debate was held in the Norton Center for the Arts on the campus of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Bernard Shaw of CNN posed the questions for each candidate. An estimated 28.5 million viewers tuned into the debate.

October 11: Second presidential debate (Wake Forest University)

Second presidential debate
Date(s)October 11, 2000 (2000-10-11)
VenueWake Forest University
LocationWinston-Salem, North Carolina
ParticipantsAl Gore
George W. Bush
Moderator(s)Jim Lehrer of PBS

The debate was held in the Wait Chapel on the campus of the Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jim Lehrer of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program The NewsHour posed the questions for each candidate. An estimated 37.5 million viewers tuned into the debate.

October 17: Third presidential debate (Washington University in St. Louis)

Third presidential debate
Date(s)October 17, 2000 (2000-10-17)
VenueWashington University in St. Louis
LocationSt. Louis, Missouri
ParticipantsAl Gore
George W. Bush
Moderator(s)Jim Lehrer of PBS

The debate was held at the Field House on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Jim Lehrer moderated the town hall-style debate, featuring questions asked by members of the audience. An estimated 37.7 million viewers tuned into the debate.


Third-party debates

References

  1. "CPD: 2000 Debates". www.debates.org. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  2. "What Happened in 2000?". opendebates.org. Archived from the original on 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  3. "The Appleseed Citizens' Task Force On Presidential Debates: A Blueprint for Fair and Open Presidential Debates". reclaimdemocracy.org. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  4. "2000 Debates". debates.org. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  5. Lieberman, Joe (July 20, 2016). "Here's what to do if you've just been nominated for vice president". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  6. "Debates". www.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
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