A Two-Party Presidential Debate in Primary Season?

October 16, 2007 RSS Feed Print

I had a column in Sunday’s New York Times calling for a primary-season two-party presidential debate. The column was commissioned by the Times, and I was eager to write it because I have long thought such debates were a good idea. The one historical example was an NBC News debate with six Democratic and six Republican candidates in December 1987. My recollection, reinforced by a reading of the transcript, was that Tom Brokaw did a superb job as moderator.

In Saturday’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required), I listed my “Five Best” books on “the shared heritage of America and Britain.”

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presidential election 2008

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Michael Barone

Michael Barone

U.S. News Weekly

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Michael Barone is a senior writer for U.S.News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. He has written for many publications—including the Economist and the New York Times.

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