"Five Questions with Professor Alan Schroeder"

Alan Schroeder a professor in the School of Journalism at Northeastern University in Boston, where he teaches  primarily in the area of visual journalism. Schroeder is the author of several books: Presidential Debates: 50 Years of High-Risk TV (Columbia University Press, 2008) as well as a previous edition, Presidential Debates: 40 Years of High-Risk TV (Columbia University Press, 2000); Celebrity-in-Chief: How Show Business Took Over the White House (Westview Press, 2004); and a textbook, Writing and Producing Television News: From Newsroom to Air (Oxford University Press, 2008). 

1.  Two of the debates are being held in swing states this year (Colorado and Florida), while two debates are taking place in New York and Kentucky.  In future years, do you think Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates should be held exclusively in the dozen-ish swing states?

"Ideally presidential debates should be distributed around the country, but I think it's realistic to expect that the candidates and their campaigns would prefer for political reasons to hold the events in swing states.  I am of the opinion that debates are the one part of the campaign process that belongs to voters -- not to the candidates and not to the press -- and for that reason I would prefer to see them staged in all parts of the country.  It's a national election, and presidential debates are very much national events."

2.  Do you think a third-party candidate like Gary Johnson should be allowed to participate in the Presidential Debates?  How would his participation likely impact the debates?

"I think the threshold that has been set for third party/independent candidate participation -- fifteen per cent standing in the national opinion polls -- is not unrealistic.  Ross Perot met this criterion in 1992, and we saw that it enlivened that year's debates.  It is difficult to say how participation by Gary Johnson would mix things up in 2012, and ultimately any such discussion would be idle speculation.  In the final analysis only Obama and Romney will take part."

3.  Has the Commission on Presidential Debates been good or bad for the quality and style of recent Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates?

"The debate commission comes in for a great deal of criticism on many fronts, but on the whole I think they have been a capable steward of the institution.  My sense is that they are honorable people who care deeply about debates and who strive with each election cycle to make them better.  I realize that not everybody agrees with me on this, but the commission's track record has been solid, and they've been at it now since 1988."

4.  Were you surprised that Jim Lehrer from PBS agreed to moderate another Presidential Debate this year after famously saying the 2008 debate would be his last?

"Yes, I was surprised to hear Jim Lehrer's name when the announcement of moderators was made. Obviously, however, he knows what he's doing.  Beyond serving more times than anyone else as moderator, Lehrer has also been an ardent student of presidential debates.  His production company has created an invaluable video archives consisting of interviews with most of the recent presidential and vice presidential debaters.  Future scholars of debates will be tapping into these interviews for decades to come."

5.  President Obama’s last Presidential Debate occurred on October 15, 2008.  Do you think he will be rusty in the first debate on October 3^rd?

"Opening debates can be a tough challenge for incumbent presidents.  This was the case for Ronald Reagan in 1984, George H.W. Bush in 1992, and George W. Bush in 2004, so I would not be surprised if President Obama finds himself rusty when the time comes to step onto that stage. Mitt Romney, by contrast, went through twenty-plus debates and forums during the Republican primary season, which leaves him much better prepped."