U.S. presidential election debates, 2004

The 2004 United States Presidential Election Debates were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) and concluded October 13, nearly three weeks before election scheduled for November 2, 2004.

First presidential debate — September 30

Venue

The debate was held in the Convocation Center of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

Related Topics:
University of Miami - Coral Gables - Florida

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Jim Lehrer of The NewsHour on the Public Broadcasting Service posed eighteen total questions:

Related Topics:
Jim Lehrer - The NewsHour - Public Broadcasting Service

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Questions for President Bush

• Do you believe the election of Senator Kerry on November the 2nd would increase the chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack?
• What about Senator Kerry's point, the comparison he drew between the priorities of going after Osama bin Laden and going after Saddam Hussein?
• What criteria would you use to determine when to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq?
• You have said there was a, quote, "miscalculation of what the conditions would be in postwar Iraq." What was the miscalculation, and how did it happen?
• Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost in American lives? Ten thousand fifty two — I mean, 1,052 as of today.
• Does the Iraq experience make it more likely or less likely that you would take the United States into another preemptive military action?
• Do you believe that diplomacy and sanctions can resolve the nuclear problems with North Korea and Iran?
• There are clearly, as we have heard, major policy differences between the two of you. Are there also underlying character issues that you believe — that you believe are serious enough to deny Senator Kerry the job as Commander-in-Chief of the United States?
• Did you misjudge President Putin, or are you — do you feel that what he is doing in the name of anti-terrorism by changing some democratic processes is okay?

Questions for Senator Kerry

• Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?
• What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in ?
• As President, what would you do specifically, in addition to, or differently, to increase the homeland security of the United States than what President Bush is doing?
• Speaking of Vietnam, you spoke to Congress in 1971, after you came from Vietnam, and you said, quote, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" Are Americans now dying in Iraq for a mistake?
• You've repeatedly accused President Bush — not here tonight, but elsewhere before — of not telling the truth about Iraq, essentially of lying to the American people about Iraq. Give us some examples of what you consider to be his not telling the truth.
• Can you give us specifics — in terms of a scenario, time lines, et cetera — for ending U.S. — major U.S. military involvement in Iraq?
• What is your position on the whole concept of preemptive war?
• You mentioned Darfur, the Darfur region of Sudan. Fifty thousand people have already died in that area, more than a million are homeless and it has been labeled an act of ongoing genocide, yet, neither one of you — or anyone else connected with your campaigns or your administration that I can find — has discussed the possibility of sending in troops. Why not?
• If you are elected President, what will you take to that office thinking is the single most serious threat to the national security of the United States?

Transcript and video stream

• from Wikisource
• Real player video stream of the debate from the BBC website
• Video and stream of the debate from the Internet Archive

Post-debate poll

62.5 million people tuned in to the debates, an increase of just over 35% from 2000. A Gallup poll conducted following the debate among 615 registered voters found that 53 percent felt Kerry had done better than Bush, while those who were of the opposite opinion amounted to 37 percent. 46 percent said they had a more favorable opinion of Kerry after the debate, compared to 21 percent for Bush. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20041001-9999-1n1assess.html

Related Topics:
2000 - Gallup

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Controversy

A bulge in the back of Bush's suit jacket during this debate triggered rumors that he was "wired" with a radio receiver, presumably to receive instructions from his strategists. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3730364.stm Contributing to the rumors was the perception by some that, at one point, Bush stated "Let me finish" in response to no apparent interruption and when he still had time on the clock, and some long pauses by Bush before he began answering a question. Others dismissed these accusations, saying that the "Let me finish" was a response to a gesture that Lehrer made, and the pauses were a result of Bush gathering his thoughts before responding. The story gained momentum on the Internet throughout the remaining debates, with some websites devoted exclusively to the issue, often referred to as the "Bush bulge" or "Bush wired" story. Comedy talk show hosts had fun with "Bulgegate" jokes.

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White House officials initially claimed that the bulge was a "wrinkle in the fabric," and that President Bush was not wearing a bullet-proof vest, as many conjectured. After the election, unidentified sources in the Secret Service told The Hill that Bush had been wearing a bullet-proof vest and that campaign handlers had not admitted it earlier for security reasons. http://www.hillnews.com/under_dome/110404.aspx.

Related Topics:
Secret Service - The Hill

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There is also evidence that the device was a portable defibrillator the president supposedly began wearing after the infamous "pretzel incident" in January 2002 http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2004/12/35839.php.

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A photo imaging scientist at NASA, Dr. Robert M. Nelson, applied photo enhancement techniques to images of Bush at each of the three debates. http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2004/11/10_402.html He concluded that Bush was "obviously wearing something -- probably a receiver of some kind -- under his jacket for each debate." http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2004/11/10_407.html Nelson sent his evidence to The New York Times, which prepared an investigative report on the matter, but it was killed by editors, one of whom later explained that the story did not make the cut because it was mere "speculation"; a reporter on the Times science desk disagreed. http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2012 The story received some coverage, for example in Salon and Mother Jones magazines.

Related Topics:
NASA - The New York Times - ''Salon'' - ''Mother Jones''

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The bulge appeared in the second presidential debate as well, albeit differently-shaped; this furthered speculation as to what was under Bush's jacket. In addition to the bulge, C-SPAN footage of the second debate revealed what appeared to be a black object under Bush's tie for a brief second; there has been no definitive word on what caused this to appear.

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Shortly before the final presidential debate, an individual claiming to be a student at Arizona State University posted on the forums of the liberal website Democratic Underground that he was attempting to use radio equipment to determine whether or not the bulge was caused by a radio transmitter. If an attempt was actually made, it was apparently unsuccessful, as no widely-known results were obtained.

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Kerry has also been the subject of misconduct rumors. Footage shows him removing something from his jacket, in violation of section 5(c) of the Memorandum of Understanding, which states, in part: "No props ... or other tangible things may be brought into the debate by any candidate." At first there was speculation that it might have been an index card or a piece of paper containing notes, but subsequent investigation by the Fox News Channel http://www.dailyrecycler.com/blog/2004/10/mystery-solved.html revealed that what Kerry removed from his jacket was a pen.

Related Topics:
Memorandum of Understanding - Index card - Fox News Channel

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"You forgot Poland"

During the debate John Kerry accused Bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, saying the only countries assisting the USA during the invasion were the United Kingdom and Australia. Bush replied to this by saying "Well, actually, he forgot Poland." See You forgot Poland for more details.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Australia - Poland - You forgot Poland

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