- September 26, 2008-University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS--Focus on domestic policy
- October 7, 2008--Belmont University in Nashville, TN--townhall meeting
- October 15, 2008--Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY (will also be host of the "Bush Presidency" at some point in the next decade)--focus on foreign policy.
- October 2, 2008--Washington University, St. Louis, MO--VP Debate.
The New York Times had a blurb on the pick, framed from the perspective of New Orleans, which is deeply offended that it was not picked--apparently it was led to believe that it was among the final selections, and how it knows that is beyond me.
New Orleans was told that it was not selected because it had "not recovered sufficiently from Hurricane Katrina." The Democrat Co-Chair of the Commission said that New Orleans was not chosen because it "was not read for a big event." And yet the University of Mississippi was picked, and Oxford, MS has only 700 hotel rooms to accommodate the 4,000+ who travel place to place to either cover the debate or administer it. The remaining 3,300 who aren't able to book a room will be "bused" from Tupelo, MS. How in the world is Oxford, MS "ready for a big event"?
When explaining the choices, the Republican Co-Chair, Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., declared that the picks were not based on political influence, but rather "technical criteria and geographical balance." Anyone want to explain to me how TN, MS, and MO are geographical balance? More likely geographical clustering.
Furthermore, why aren't "battleground" states in the mix? MS has six electoral votes and TN has 11, as does MO. NY has 31. But none of these states are likely to be in play. MS, MO and TN are Republican states, and NY is a Democratic state. Why wasn't Ohio, PA, or Florida chosen?
One final LOL comment by the Commission--they have apparently changed the debate format so the candidates can now ask questions of one another, when the rules up to the point stipulated that candidates address only the moderator. And here is what Co-Chair Fahrenkopf says about that: "The candidates aren't going to dictate to us anymore." HAHAHAHAHA. Read the Memorandum of Understanding from the 2004 debates and then tell me whether you believe the bluster coming from Fahrenkopf!
The other diversion from the past is the addition of Internet questions, but I won't hold my breath that that will mean much.
