Posted on 11/15/2007 4:12:30 PM PST by Route66
The upcoming Republican Party of Iowa Presidential Debate, scheduled to be televised on FOX News Channel on December 4, 2007, has been cancelled due to candidate scheduling conflicts.
RPI is disappointed that Iowans will not have the same opportunity that Republicans in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida had earlier this year with their nationally televised debates. A debate in Iowa leading up to January 3, 2008, would have displayed Iowa's unique caucus system, and possibly garnered more viewers and attention than any other debate given its proximity to the caucuses.
Republican Party of Iowa Executive Director Chuck Laudner said, "It is too bad that a candidate wouldn't want to take advantage of this kind of debate with representation from all 99 Iowa counties in the audience, let alone the fact FOX News Channel has had the most viewers of any debate."
O really?
Just as well having excluded other established GOP candidates.
I was a little late with this one. Please pull this thread.
Could be. I guess he just does not want to take any risk by going head to head with the other candidates.
Who can get excited about debates when the election is almost a year away? I haven’t seen any and don’t feel I’ve missed a thing.
It really will be a long time before the 2008 election. Presidential campaigns go on for almost 2 years, now. I don’t know how these candidates can stand it and I think most voters just tune it out until they have to think about it.
But the first of the states will begin voting in early January and Primary choices have to be made. I think this debate would have been the last before the Iowa vote.
I don’t see anything in that article suggesting that it was Mitt Romney who backed out of the debate.
If you remember, it was Giuliani and McCain who skipped the state’s straw poll. My guess would be that those same two guys are the ones with “scheduling conflicts”.
I have been following and working in campaigns for over 50 years. Not once in that time did I ever see a candidate whose internal polls showed him behind or even losing suport drop out of a debate.
Up until the last 3 weeks of the 1980 campaign Jimmy Carter refused to debate Reagan. At the start of the Campaign Carter was about 25 points ahead of Reagan. Then as fall set in Reagan began to close the gap. With three weeks to go Reagan was gaining and if the rate of gain continued at its pace then Reagan would win.
Jimmy Carter who had was too busy working on the economy and hostage crisis to debate, suddenly agreed to debate.
Was the economy better or were the hostages freed? Certainly not. Reagan was gaining and the only chance Carter had was to badly defeat Reagan in a debate. It was a huge gamble but Carter had no other option but to take the chance.
Of course Carter lost the debate big time. And lost the election even bigger time. But if he had maintained his big lead he would never have debated Reagan.
If Carter had believed that he could really defeat Reagan in a debate he would have agreed earlier. But he did not want to take the risk but with 3 weeks to go and falling in the polls, he had no other option.
When a candidate is in the lead, and has a good lead, the best a debate can do for him is cost some of his lead. When a candidate is behind, the only thing that can happen in a debate is his numbers go up. Therefore leaders in the race never want to debate.
For example in 1964 LBJ refused to debate Barry Goldwater. LBJ was so far ahead all that could happen in a debate was LBJ might lose some support. So the big winner LBJ refused to debate Barry. Barry kept asking and LBJ kept saying NO!
In 1968 Nixon refused to debate Humphrey. Nixon was way ahead and saw no reason to give Humphrey any free publicity.
Again in 1972 Nixon was so far ahead he refused to debate McGovern. McGoven in every speech demanded that Nixon debate him but Nixon refused and won a huge victory.
But in 1976 Ford was behind and had to debate Carter.
NO one who is behind or falling in the polls refuses to debate. Those that want to debate always have to reverse the trend. Those in the process of winning never want to reverse the trend.
“I don’t see anything in that article suggesting that it was Mitt Romney who backed out of the debate.”
...................................
Actually, it’s been reported in the Des Moines Register. FR does not like that source due to copyright complaints.
You can find the story here:
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NEWS/71115038/1012/NEWS11
Update:
The last source posted states Romney will participate in a debate on Dec. 12th sponsored by the Des Moines Register.
Rudy is deeply saddened.
This greatly diminished his free media exposure by the RudyNewsNetwork.
Thank goodness we don’t have to watch Frank Luntz again.
It is planned to be a 90-minute debate starting at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on "statewide television."
Candidates accept invitations to Register debate
THE DES MOINES REGISTER • November 15, 2007
I wish they would have gone on with it, too.
Did you see the last Luntz debacle at a Republican debate? He claimed that the polled group said Giuliani won the debate decisively. This after about 7 people in a group of 30 or so put up their hands when he asked if Giuliani won. It was so blatantly obvious what Luntz the Fox Flunky was up to that it was laughable. Romney is smart not to appear in any Fox sanctioned debate.
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