Clinton/Dole Debates

March 6, 2003 6:51 AM

Clinton and Dole on "60 Minutes"While the 1996 Presidential Debates weren't seen as the pinnacle of political discourse at the time, they were congenial by today's talk-show standards. Will these 'elder statesmen' have time in a short TV segment to start genuine discussion of critical issues? Is there any other media outlet that already accomplishes this?
posted by stevis (7 comments total)

Bill Maher's show on HBO is probably the place that allows the most candor (although this incarnation is very planned out in comparison to his older show). You can also get brief glimpses of it on The Daily Show.
posted by sparky at 7:07 AM on March 6, 2003

While I think Clinton vs. Dole is a pretty good match, I'd like to see other elder statesmen take the opportunity to bring thoughtful debate to a public forum:

Jimmy Carter vs. Newt Gingrich.
George Bush Sr. vs. Al Gore.
Or even Jesse Jackson vs. Rudy Guiliani
posted by stevis at 7:45 AM on March 6, 2003

Jimmy Carter vs. Newt Gingrich.
George Bush Sr. vs. Al Gore.
Or even Jesse Jackson vs. Rudy Guiliani

These are also some of my wish-to-see Celebrity Death Matches.
posted by tolkhan at 8:00 AM on March 6, 2003

Is Clinton old enough to be considered an elder statesmen? Dole fits the bill, but when I think of elder statesment I think of older people such as George Bush or Jimmy Carter and not someone as young as Bill Clinton.
posted by gyc at 9:41 AM on March 6, 2003

Hopefully the lack of pressure will loosen Dole up. I don't always agree with his politics, but his engaging side doesn't seem to come through on TV. (It's not like I know the guy, but that's what almost all the reports say, and the one time I met him he was very very gracious and generally a good egg.) This'll be fun.
posted by Vidiot at 9:50 AM on March 6, 2003

There's almost no other job after President, gyc. And while he's quite spry, I wouldn't consider 56 to be "young" -- and indeed, it's the same age that Carter was when he became an ex-President. It was 61 for Nixon, and 60 for LBJ and TR.
posted by dhartung at 10:10 AM on March 6, 2003

"Bill, you ignorant slut."
posted by phong3d at 12:41 PM on March 6, 2003