WooHoo! ABC News and Koppel do Dem debate on Dec 9!

[hedda_foil]

Thank God. The first time a debate is broadcast by one of the majors and a real, live journalist will moderate. No Judy Woodruff and no faux questions ala CNN. It's about time, fellas and gals. It's about time.

From The Note:

ABC News and ABC affiliate WMUR (Manchester, NH) are announcing this morning that we will produce a live, 90-minute debate among the Democratic candidates for president in Durham, New Hampshire on Tuesday, December 9, 2003. The debate is facilitated by the Democratic National Committee on behalf of the Democratic candidates.

The debate is scheduled to begin at 7:00pm ET. ABC News Nightline anchor Ted Koppel will moderate the debate and WMUR anchor Scott Spradling will join him in questioning the candidates.

ABC News, WMUR, and the Manchester Union Leader will also host a debate in New Hampshire on Thursday, January 22 just before the January 27th New Hampshire primary.

[grasswire]

1. hooray

Ted Koppel is a national treasure lately.

[hlthe2b]

11. Yes, Koppel's no push-over and he will be tough...

but fair.

[Spazito]

2. That is great news!

ABC is soooo much better than CNN, I have no doubt that they will do a great job! To paraphrase Mike Malloy, Have I said how much I hate CNN today?

If I needed an other reason to hate CNN, which I don't, the fact that they planted a stupid, inane question during the Rock the Vote debate would have sealed my distain for them.

[Skip Intro]

3. Great news for those of us without cable, too

;-)

[returnable]

4. ABC News is producing it...

...but I heard the live broadcast was gonna be on CSPAN, and portions would air later that night on "Nightline".

Might wanna check into that.

[NewJeffCT]

5. Now if...

We could only get a few candidates to drop out by Dec 9 so the remaining folks can get a word in edgewise... (I'm not naming names, I'd just like them to get more of a chance to speak!)

[Avalux]

6. I agree

we need to have a few drop out, and I'm not naming names either. These debates are too stilted.

[returnable]

7. Clark won't be there

He's gonna be in NYC for a fundraiser.

[Avalux]

8. No he won't

not sure it's a bad thing. He will be on David Letterman Nov 20th :bounce:

[returnable]

9. My first reaction...

...was disappointment that Clark was skipping the 12/9 debate.

But considering how frickin' awful these debates have been, and the fact he'll be raising about $1 million in NYC that day, I'm OK with it.

Plus, there'll be another NH debate before the primary, anyway. So maybe the field will have thinned out by then.

Thanks for the heads-up about the Letterman appearance, by the way. That's very cool. :hi:

[Avalux]

10. You're welcome

and if you don't already know, Clark will appear on Meet the Press Sunday, and 60 Minutes II on November 19th. :hi: