April Bethea may be reached at
adbethea@email.unc.edu
While much of the blame concerning the “debates of the
debates” was directed at Gov. Bush, many also faulted Gore. In an
interview this summer with Tim Russert of “Meet the Press”, Gore
promised to debate Bush “anytime, anywhere.” Following Gore’s
rejection of his proposed schedule, Bush asserted that the credibili
ty of the Vice-President had been tarnished.
The acceptance of the debate schedule proposed by the
Commission of Presidential Debates shifts attention away from the
overly-hyped political conventions and highlights the heart and soul
of election —the issues. Craig Warner, president of the
UNC College Republicans said, “Debates are a rare
opportunity to hear from the candidates.”
The issues in this year’s election cover a broad spec
trum of topics. While students may not be interested in
issues like missile defense, they should pay attention to
the candidates’ stances on education, affirmative action
and the candidates’ opinions regarding future Supreme
Court nominations,” says Brook. “One of the great lega
cies of this Administration is going to be the composition
of the Supreme Court.” Of the nine sitting Justices on the
Court, it is possible that one will retire in the coming
years. Reorganization would shift the narrow liberal/con
servative margin of the Court and could reverse many previous
decisions.
Education is also a big issue. Both Bush and Gore have pro
posed plans that will increase tax credit for college tuition. Warner
also highlighted that Bush wants to improve elementary and high
school education.
It appeared for some time that Gov. Bush and Vice Presiden
Gore would not reach an agreement on the debate schedule; now
the two candidates have agreed to meet in upcoming weeks. Now
that the dust has settled, voters have their chance to hear from the
candidates.
Debate Schedule
October 3 John F. Kennedy Library; University of Massachusetts, Boston
October 5 Centre College; Danville, Kentucky
October 11 Wake Forest University; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
October 17 Washington University, St. Louis
October 2000
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