Washington University will host the presidential debate scheduled for 8 p.m. Oct. 8, 2004, according to an announcement made Nov. 6 by Paul G. Kirk Jr. and Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., co-chairmen of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).
This is the fourth consecutive time the University has been selected by the CPD to host a debate. As with previous debates, the 2004 event will be held in the Athletic Complex.
The University hosted the first presidential debate held prior to the 1992 election, was selected to host a presidential debate in 1996 that eventually was canceled, and hosted the third and last presidential debate of the 2000 campaign season.
“It is an honor and a privilege to once again be chosen to host one of the presidential debates,” Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. “To host such an event at Washington University is a significant responsibility and the effort is one that will bring important benefits to St. Louis and the Washington University community.
“The 2004 presidential election will stimulate much national and international interest, and hosting a debate will engage our community in issues that will affect our future. Being selected as a host is a sure sign of the quality and commitment of our employees and students.”
Sponsors for the debate are A.G. Edwards, Bank of America, BJC HealthCare and Emerson.
“A.G. Edwards is proud to be among the sponsors bringing an event of such national importance to St. Louis,” said Robert L. Bagby, chairman and chief executive officer of A.G. Edwards. “We believe it is vital that citizens around the country have an op-portunity to hear candidates discuss their positions on a number of key issues that affect us all.”
Pat Mercurio, president of Bank of America-Missouri, said: “We have had a long and close relationship with the University, and we’re proud to be a part of bringing this important national event to the Washington University campus and to the Gateway City.
“Few undertakings are more important to the health of our community, and indeed our entire nation, than the exercise of the democratic process.”
Steven H. Lipstein, president and chief executive officer of BJC HealthCare, said: “I believe health care will be a critical topic for the 2004 presidential debate. The United States is home to the finest health care in the world.
“But we are facing serious challenges to our ability to maintain the exceptional quality of care our citizens have come to expect, and yet keep that care affordable and accessible for those who need it.”
The University is once again offering the same facilities that were made available for the 1992, 1996 and 2000 debates. The expertise and experience of the faculty and staff combined with enthusiastic volunteer assistance from students have been a major factor in the success of previous debates at the University, Wrighton noted.
All tickets to attend the University debate are assigned by the CPD. As was done in 1992 and 2000, any debate tickets that may be assigned to the University will be distributed only to students, who will be selected in a University-wide lottery, Wrighton said.
Debate organizers announced that the other presidential debates will be held at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2004, and at Arizona State University in Tempe on Oct. 13, 2004.
The vice presidential debate will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland on Oct. 5, 2004.
The CPD, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established in 1987, is responsible for selecting the venues and producing the presidential debates.
“Each election cycle, we hear from a growing number of communities interested in hosting a debate,” said Fahrenkopf and Kirk in a statement from the CPD. “We are honored by their commitment to be part of these historic events.
“Taking the debates to campuses around the country allows the CPD to engage thousands of young people in the political process through first-hand participation.”
The Field House in the Athletic Complex was the site of the first nationally televised three-candidate presidential debate on Oct. 11, 1992 — featuring President George Bush, Gov. Bill Clinton and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot. That year, the University had just seven days to transform the hardwood-floor gymnasium of the Field House into a red-carpeted debate hall.
In 1996, the University was again selected as a debate site, but the event was later canceled when the number of presidential debates was reduced from three to two.
In 2000, the University had nine months to prepare for the last presidential debate between Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore, which was moderated by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of PBS’ NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
The format of the Oct. 17, 2000, debate was a “town-hall meeting” in the Field House, where the candidates sat on stools facing an audience of about 140 St. Louis-area voters. These town-hall participants — undecided voters selected by the Gallup organization — asked the candidates questions.
Some 900 people — media, dignitaries, invited guests and more than 150 University students — viewed the 90-minute debate from the Field House’s upper bleacher seats. Millions more worldwide watched the televised debate, in which Bush and Gore discussed foreign and domestic policy issues.
The 2004 debate is expected to attract more than 1,500 members of the media to St. Louis along with the candidates’ campaign staffs and supporters.
“The debate gives us the chance to put our best effort forward in front of media from around the world and a huge national television audience,” said Carole Moody, president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.
“This will certainly be one of the most important events St. Louis has ever been asked to host.”
For more information about presidential debates hosted by the University, go online to debate.wustl.edu.
(From left) Robert L. Bagby, chairman and chief executive officer of A.G. Edwards; Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton; Pat Mercurio, president of Bank of America-Missouri; and Steven H. Lipstein, president and chief executive officer of BJC HealthCare, visit before the Nov. 6 presidential debate news conference.