rom the voters' perspective, debates have been the backbone of presidential campaigns for 40 years.
When an occupant of the White House is seeking reelection, debates provide a crucial platform for the challenger to meet on an equal footing with the president, whose incumbency provides tremendous advantages.
In years like this one, when no incumbent is running, debates are equally important because each candidate is required to introduce himself to much of the nation through verbal exchange - sometimes verbal battle - with his opponent.
The schedule established by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates for three meetings this fall, beginning Oct. 3 in Boston, is entirely sensible. Governor George W. Bush of Texas is not required to follow Vice President Al Gore's lead and accept the commission proposal whole, but any changes he seeks must have a convincing rationale, and none has been forthcoming to date.
The debates must be designed to gain the largest possible audience. Gore partisans have charged that Bush, fearful of Gore's debating skills, is trying to duck the full exposure proposed by the commission, perhaps by moving one or more debates to a Sunday-morning time slot that would have a small audience, or by debating on one network so the others couldn't broadcast it, or by going up against coverage of the Olympic Games in Sydney. Some in the Bush camp have questioned the Boston site, at the Columbia Point campus of the University of Massachusetts, because it is near the John F. Kennedy Library, with its Democratic aura.
But some of the maneuvering doubtless involves game-playing on both sides. Bush debated effectively when he first ran for governor, and he improved his debating performances steadily during the primary season. He would be more than happy to enter a debate with an overconfident and highly touted Gore, because the lower the expectations of Bush, the easier for him to exceed them.
If Bush's advisers have any hesitation about JFK's shadow, they should think again. For one thing, Bush could turn the story to his advantage. In 1960, the incumbent vice president was the Republican, the rather wooden Richard Nixon, and he was being challenged by a less-experienced opponent. Bush could have fun trying to assign the Nixon role to Gore.
If Bush still has problems with Columbia Point, the cameras could easily shift to Faneuil Hall, where the most prominent ghosts are people like John Adams, no Democrat for sure.
The Commission on Presidential Debates is a professional organization chaired by Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. and Paul G. Kirk Jr., former chairmen, respectively, of the Republican and Democratic national committees. Their proposal includes good scheduling, good locations, and a variety of sensible formats.
It is time for Bush and Gore to agree to the commission's proposal or something close to it.
