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| Parent | Parent |
| Type | Debate |
| Title | 1st Dem Pres. Debate |
| Start Date/Time | October 13, 1983 06:20pm |
| End Date/Time | October 13, 1983 06:20pm |
| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Modified | Chronicler - December 21, 2008 04:23pm |
| Description | The first debate of the 1984 campaign season was also the first to be held in the year before the election. Seven Democratic contenders for the nomination met at Harvard University, Cambridge MA on 10/13/1983: Askew, Cranston, Glenn, Hart, Hollings, McGovern, and Mondale.
Background of the Debate
Former Vice President Walter Mondale was cruising to the Democratic presidential nomination in the fall of 1983. He won the endorsement of the National Education Association and just days later also won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO. The same day he won the latter, he won a straw poll in Maine with 51% to 29% for Cranston and 11% for Hollings [NYT 10/2/1983].
Sen. John Glenn, who was Mondale's leading opponent at the time, charged that rank and file Democrats and union members were as likely to support him as Mondale. The New York Times and CBS News sponsored a poll to test what Glenn said. It found that Mondale was leading overall by a 30-27% margin but had a 34-29% margin among union members [NYT 10/2/1983].
Sen. Cranston was hoping to regain momentum after winning a straw poll in Wisconsin in the summer of 1983. After placing a strong second in Maine, he then worked to win a straw poll in Des Moines IA on 10/8/1983. Again, he placed a strong second - losing to Mondale by a 47-37% margin [NYT 10/9/1983].
Quick Facts
When: 10/13/1983
Where: Harvard University, Cambridge MA
Moderators/Panel: not reported by the New York Times
Audience size: 600
Topics: Military policy
Sponsor: the Massachusetts Citizens Coalition for Arms Control and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Transcript: not available.
Format: unstated
Setting: unstated
The Debate
The debate was sponsored by an organization named the Massachusetts Citizens Coalition for Arms Control and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
At the time, the exchange that was considered the most important was between Glenn and Mondale. Glenn asked Mondale about his efforts as VP to help President Carter sell F-15's to Saudi Arabia, sustain the grain embargo against India, and push the MX missile through Congress. He wanted to know if Mondale had changed his mind. Mondale's response was weak; though he had personally opposed those moves, as VP he felt obliged to support Pres. Carter.
Mondale also raised the issue of the SALT II treaty. Mondale had worked hard to lobby Democrats to ratify the treaty, while Glenn as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Treaty opposed it because he believed verification was not adequate.
Sen. Cranston defended his single-issue candidacy. He believed that a successful president would need to concentrate his energies on one or two major issues. He compared himself to Abraham Lincoln, whose single issue was ending slavery, and asked "What is wrong with being labeled a single-issue candidate if your goal is ending an arms race that threatens our very survival, that undermines our economy and wrecks our capacity to deal with all other issues?"
Reuben Askew was the only contender who did not pledge to support a freeze on the testing and production of nuclear weapons.
George McGovern stated that if the Soviet Union signed a nuclear freeze treaty and then broke it, the USA could later "resume the building of nuclear weapons."
Ernest Hollings put himself forth as the "most realistic" of the contenders. When asked the most effective step the nation could take to reach an agreement with the Soviet Union, he answered "Elect me President."
Gary Hart was "unalterably opposed" to Pres. Reagan's START proposal. He stated that it did not go far enough because it allowed for the production of more weapons. [NYT 10/14/1983].
Aftermath
In the end, the debate did not produce a clear winner, though Glenn and Cranston made the best impression on those gathered. |
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