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1980 United States vice presidential debate | |||||||||||||||||
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The1980 United States presidential debates were a series ofdebates held during the1980 presidential election.
TheLeague of Women Voters sponsored two presidential debates: the first on September 21, and the second on October 28. The second presidential debate is the second most-watched debate in American history.Republican nomineeRonald Reagan participated in both debates.Independent candidateJohn B. Anderson only participated in the first presidential debate, whileDemocratic nomineeJimmy Carter only participated in the second presidential debate.
No vice presidential debate was held in 1980. Anderson's running matePatrick Lucey was the only one who agreed to participate, while Carter's running mateWalter Mondale and Reagan's running mateGeorge H. W. Bush both refused.
The tentative schedule for the debates, reported in August 1980, was as follows:[1]
The 1980 election featured a major third-party candidate,John B. Anderson. TheLeague of Women Voters allowed for Anderson to participate in the debate if he polled above 15%.[2]
The Carter campaign, believing that a three-way debate betweenJimmy Carter,Ronald Reagan, and Anderson, would boost Anderson's campaign, tried to push for an earlier debate only featuring Carter and Reagan.[2] This plan was supported by the chairs of theDemocratic andRepublican National Committee.[3] The two-person debate did not materialize, and Carter declined to debate alongside Anderson.[4]
The vice presidential debate was canceled on September 29, days before it was scheduled to be held.George H. W. Bush andWalter Mondale refused to attend, leaving only Anderson's running matePatrick Lucey accepting the invitation.[5]
| 1980 United States presidential election debates | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
| Key: P Participant N Non-invitee A Absent invitee | Democratic | Republican | Independent | |||||||||||||
| President Jimmy Carter ofGeorgia | Governor Ronald Reagan ofCalifornia | Congressman John B. Anderson ofIllinois | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Sunday, September 21, 1980 10:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT[6] | Baltimore Convention Center | Baltimore,Maryland | Bill Moyers ofPBS | A | P | P | |||||||||
| 2 | Tuesday, October 28, 1980 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. EST[6] | Music Hall | Cleveland,Ohio | Howard K. Smith ofABC | P | P | N | |||||||||
| 1980 United States vice presidential debate | ||||||||||||||||
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
| Democratic | Republican | Independent | ||||||||||||||
| Vice President Walter Mondale ofMinnesota | Director George H. W. Bush ofTexas | Ambassador Patrick Lucey ofWisconsin | ||||||||||||||
| Canceled | ||||||||||||||||
| First presidential debate | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | September 21, 1980 (1980-09-21) |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Venue | Baltimore Convention Center |
| Location | Baltimore,Maryland |
| Participants | John B. Anderson Ronald Reagan |
| Moderator(s) | Bill Moyers ofPBS |
The first presidential debate took place on Sunday, September 21, 1980, at theBaltimore Convention Center inBaltimore,Maryland. The three invitees were Carter, Anderson and Reagan, though Carter refused to attend due to the presence of Anderson.[8][9]
Following a strong performance by Reagan, Anderson's poll numbers began to drop. Consequently, Anderson would not be invited to the second debate.[8]
The debate started at 10:00 p.m.EDT, and lasted for one hour.[10] Anderson and Reagan both received six questions.[11] They were given two and a half minutes to answer each question, as well as one minute and 15 seconds to rebut. Closing statements could be as long as three minutes.[10]
| Second presidential debate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date(s) | October 28, 1980 (1980-10-28) |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Venue | Music Hall |
| Location | Cleveland,Ohio |
| Participants | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan |
| Moderator(s) | Howard K. Smith ofABC |
The second presidential debate took place on Tuesday, October 28, 1980, at theMusic Hall inCleveland,Ohio.[8] Carter and Reagan were the only invitees.[8] Reagan's most notable moments include using the phrase"There you go again" and asking whether or not Americans were better off than they were four years ago.[8]CNN attempted to include Anderson from theConstitution Hall inWashington, D.C. CNN'sDaniel Schorr read the same questions to Anderson. They then aired Anderson's live responses along with tape delay of Carter and Reagan's responses,[12][13] despite technical difficulties.[14]
The second presidential debate started at 9:30 p.m. EST, and lasted for 90 minutes.[10] The debate consisted of two halves, and panelists were only allowed to offer follow-ups in the first half. Candidates Carter and Reagan both received the same 12 questions[15] and the ability to rebut twice for one minute each.[10]
According toNielsen Media Research, the debate garnered 80.6 million viewers.[10][16] It was the most-watched debate in American history until thefirst presidential debate of 2016.[17]
An unscientifictelevote poll carried out byABC immediately after the debate received about 650,000 responses, two thirds in favor of Reagan.[18][19]
In 1983, Reagan's campaigncame under fire for having access to Carter's internal debate briefing materials.[20]
A minor party debate was held by the New York Committee for Marxist Education on October 9. The debate was moderated by Bill Henning, and attended by representatives of theCommunist Party USA,Socialist Workers Party,Socialist Party USA,Citizens Party, andWorkers World Party. The only candidate to attend in person was Workers World'sDeirdre Griswold.[21]
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