Asked why he would duck another primary debate, Donald Trump seemed pleased to avoid the attention.
“I think we’ve had enough. How many times can the same people ask you the same question?” he told Fox News, which would have hosted the now cancelled debate on Monday in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Asked if this is a concern, Dorothy Ridings sighed with relief.
“This gives me a chance to say I am so glad we don’t do primary debates,” said Ridings, a former president of the League of Women Voters and a governing member of the Commission on Presidential Debates.
For the eighth straight presidential election cycle, the Commission on Presidential Debates will host and sponsor candidates who are constitutionally eligible to run for president, have received their party’s nomination, have at least 15 percent support in five major polls and, last but not least, agree to show up.
Ridings, who serves on numerous civic foundations and began her career as a journalist in the 1960s, told the Akron Roundtable on Thursday that the level of incivility and distrust in politics is alarming. The general election debates, which are less likely to be shunned by candidates or influenced by their campaigns, promise order in a chaotic election season.
“We do not negotiate any of the basic terms that go to the integrity of the [debates]. It’s a voter education event designed for the public and not for the candidates,” Ridings said.
Only Jimmy Carter, who did not participate in the first presidential debate in 1980, has refused to show up. Ronald Reagan, who chastised Carter’s record while debating third-party candidate John Anderson, won handily that year. Ridings figured the no-show hurt Carter’s campaign.
The first general election debate of 2016 is set for Sept. 26 at Wright State University in Dayton, exactly 56 years after John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon participated in the first televised debate. The process of vetting host cities (preferably with colleges) and dates (avoiding holidays and sporting events) began two years ago. Ridings said that while America’s major political parties settle on nominees, her nonpartisan organization has yet to tap a moderator for the first debate, hosted a dozen times before by retired news anchor Jim Lehrer.
In a highly scrutinized event, the moderator — who crafts and asks the questions — is crucial.
“The only person who knows the questions that will be asked is the moderator. Now I can’t tell you about pillow talk,” Ridings said jokingly. “But I can tell you we don’t [know the questions]. The candidates don’t. The networks don’t. The campaigns don’t. That’s why the moderator choice is so very, very vital.”
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug.