The year was 1984, and one of the most memorable presidential debate moments became part of history.
President Ronald Reagan turned to his Democratic opponent, former VP Walter Mondale. "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience," Reagan deadpanned, evoking smiles and bouts of laughter from everyone in the debate hall, even Mondale. There was no bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates to take credit for that debate. Edwin Newman of NBC was the sole moderator.
In a fit of morality, the two parties created a bipartisan CPD in 1987 to fix a problem when none was present: to ensure that presidential debates become a permanent part of the electoral process. No one in 1987 foresaw our current environment with its thousand echo chambers across print, radio, television, online, podcast universe, and social media platforms.
The RNC Is Right To Pull Out Of The Presidential Debates
It's time to say goodbye to the faceless, unelected Commission on Presidential Debates, forever.
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