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| Parent | Parent |
| Type | Debate |
| Title | Mondale-Dole VP Debate |
| Start Date/Time | October 15, 1976 08:30pm |
| End Date/Time | October 15, 1976 09:45pm |
| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Modified | Chronicler - October 11, 2008 10:58am |
| Description | The Mondale-Dole Vice Presidential Debate of 1976 was the first debate between candidates for Vice President. The idea of holding a VP debate had first been raised by Nixon in 1960; JFK declined the offer, since he was familiar with the debate skills of Henry C. Lodge and did not want to risk LBJ losing the debate. Another VP debate was not held until 1984.
Background
The League of Women Voters began making arrangements for the presidential and vice presidential debates in the summer of 1976. One of the earliest reports of a proposed VP debate came on 8/6/1976 when the first tentative proposal was released by the LWV [New York Times 8/7/1976].
Once the two teams had agreed to the debates, the scheduling became an issue. The month before the election was held, several important sports events were scheduled. The date chosen, 10/15/1976, was not well-chosen. That same day, an important boxing match was scheduled between George Foreman and Dino Dennis, and a baseball game between the Yankees and Kansas City would determine which team would advance to the World Series. The day was also the last day of Succoth, and the debate was scheduled for the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, who was the president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, unsuccessfully asked that it be shifted [NYT 10/1/1976]. Dole tried to shift the date of the debate, but by that time the arrangements were already set [NYT 10/8/1976].
The proposed VP debate raised awareness of the role of VP nominees in campaigns. Jack W. Germond of the New York Times studied the campaign roles of Mondale and Dole in 1976 in the weeks before the debate. He astutely observed that "the 'rules' of Vice Presidential campaigning do not allow them to develop anything that even approaches a dialogue. Because of presumed risks, they are not able to offer thoughtful analyses of national concerns, let alone innovative ideas. They are relegated instead to braying about the virtues of their leaders and the perfidy of the opposition" [NYT 10/10/1976].
Quick Facts
When: 8:30-9:45 p.m. (Central), 10/15/1976. Carried live by ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS
Where: Alley Theatre, Houston TX.
Moderator: James Hoge (editor, Chicago Sun-Times). Panel: Marilyn Berger (NBC), Hal Bruno (Newsweek), and Walter Mears (AP).
Number of viewers/listeners: 43,200,000 [Link]
Topics: Foreign, domestic policy
Transcript: New York Times, 10/16/1976, pp. 8-9
Format: Two-minute opening statements. Questions with 2.5 minute responses and a 1-minute rebuttal. Three-minute closing statements.
Setting: The candidates sat behind half-cylinder desks, facing the moderator and the audience. Viewers saw Mondale on the left and Dole on the right.
The debate was partially acrimonious. Sen. Dole appeared edgy and uncomfortable throughout the debate. For much of the time, he leaned on his desk, with his left forearm flat on the desk top, often clutching his injured right hand. He would often look over his shoulder when answering a question. On occasion, Dole would tell a joke with his dry wit. Mondale, who also had a sense of humor, chose not to joke or smile during the debate.
In their opening statements (an element of the debate added at the last minute), Dole went first. He said that he had known President Ford for 16 years and believed that Ford "has that confidence and projects that leadership that America needs and that you need right now." Although he had tried to find out, he did not know Gov. Carter's policy positions, though "he does agree with my opponent, my friend, Walter Mondale, one of the most liberal Senators."
Mondale used his opening statement to discuss the economy. He mentioned that the USA had the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, increasing inflation, reduced purchasing power of the average family, and loss of value in the stock market. He said "we need a government that works, and we need a government that cares." He sought action on "education, on health, on housing, on the environment, on energy..."
Both candidates stated that they expected to play a larger role in the upcoming government than earlier VPs had played. Dole, who responded first, said that Ford wanted him to work on increasing agricultural exports and determining the status of POWs in Vietnam. Mondale said that his roles would include helping to reorganize the federal government to eliminate duplicate programs, focusing federal efforts against crime, and efforts to stop the importation of illegal drugs.
In response to a question about low voter interest in the race, the two candidates focused on the positive aspects of their own political party and the negative aspects of the opponent's party. Mondale began by pointing to the public's frustration over Vietnam and Watergate, followed by the Ford administration's inability to deal with rising unemployment. Sen. Dole said that the people were looking for leadership, not empty words, and that they had found this in President Ford.
Mondale favored increased government involvement in social programs. He said that he first wanted to work with getting Americans back to work. The second challenge was inflation. "It's no effort to fight this [inflation] at all," he said. He offered tax reform as the answer and said that neither Dole nor Ford had supported tax reform in the past. Both Carter and Mondale had released their previous tax forms, but neither Dole nor Ford had. Dole jumped on this and pointed out that Carter's form showed that he had paid just 12.8% of his quite large income in taxes on his most recent form - and that his tax bill was still higher than the amount the average family earned.
The first foreign policy question concerned Henry Kissinger. Dole said that he did not always support Kissinger but would not oppose another four years as SOS. Mondale said "We want a change. We want new leadership. And above all we want a change of philosophy and direction." He wanted to see a new direction in Africa, Greece, the Middle East, and Cyprus.
Dole made the case that Mondale and the Democratic Party were under the control of George Meaney and labor interests. Mondale mentioned that he had a higher rating among farmer's groups than Dole and a higher rating by the LWV than Dole, whose LWV rating was 50%. Dole replied "either I was wrong half the time or they [the LWV] were wrong half the time... they tend to be a little bit liberal."
The candidates were asked if they would "put principle above loyalty" if, as VP, the President made a bad decision. Mondale quickly replied in the affirmative, providing a caveat that if he did not have full faith in Gov. Carter, he would not have assented to run for VP. He pointed out that both Ford and Dole defended Nixon on the House floor at the lowest points of Watergate, which he would not have done for a President of his own party. Dole said "Watergate is a Republican problem." He said that when the bill came to the Senate floor, he voted for an investigation while Mondale was absent and missed the vote.
Dole's most memorable quote came near the end. He was asked about a statement he had made in 1974 that Ford moved too quickly to pardon Nixon and whether he still believed that. Dole stated that "it's not a very good issue, any more than the war in Vietnam would be or World War II, or World War I, or the war in Korea, all Democrat wars, all in this century. I figured up the other day, if we added up all the killed and wounded in Democrat wars in this century, it would be about 1.6 million Americans, enough to fill the city of Detroit." Mondale responded to this: "I think Sen. Dole has richly earned his reputation as 'hatchet man' tonight by implying and stating that World War II and the Korean War were Democratic wars."
In his closing, Dole said that the Democrats were proposing $103 billion in new programs, which he believed would just exasperate the inflation pressures. "Don't be fooled by the words, don't be fooled by the rhetoric, don't be fooled by the promises because somebody has to pay for those promises." He said that President Ford offered the leadership that the nation desired to keep the nation safe and at peace.
Mondale's closing statement focused on the economy. He mentioned rising unemployment, rising inflation, and large federal deficits. He believed that the Republican Party was the party of the past. "This country cries out for new leadership. We need a fresh start."
Aftermath
The day after the debate, both Mondale and Dole claimed to have won the debate, though neither was able to sleep well afterwards. Mondale reported "humility requires me to say that I won." Dole found the debate "tedious" and "went slowest when he [Mondale] was talking." The two men spent most of the night going over the questions in their minds, unable to sleep. [NYT 10/17/1976].
Although apparently no polls on the VP debate were taken, political pundits believed that Mondale had the edge [NYT 10/17/1976].
1st Presidential debate of 1976: [Link]
2d Presidential debate of 1976: [Link]
3d Presidential debate of 1972: [Link]
Next Vice Presidential debate [1984]: [Link]
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