Commission on Presidential Debates locks out serious presidential candidates

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From: Open Debates

Dear Open Debates Supporters:

The presidential debates, which begin in less than three weeks, will not be the hallmarks of democracy that the American people want them to be. On critical issues, the Commission on Presidential Debates has demonstrated more concern for the partisan interests of the Republican and Democratic nominees than the democratic interests of the voting public.

First, Senator Lindsay Graham of the McCain campaign and Representative Rahm Emanuel of the Obama campaign have negotiated a secret contract that dictates the terms of the 2008 presidential debates, including who can participate and the structure of the formats. The Commission on Presidential Debates has agreed to implement the debate contract. Yet, in order to shield the major party candidates from criticism, the Commission has refused to release the debate contract to the public. On Monday, September 8, Open Debates issued the following press release calling on the Commission to make public the secret contract that will govern our most important public forums: http://www.opendebates.org/makedebate.html

Second, according to a Zogby poll, a majority of voters want to see Libertarian Party candidate and former Congressman Bob Barr participate in the upcoming presidential debates. Fifty-five percent of the poll-takers supported the inclusion of Bob Barr, who will be on the ballot in over 40 states, and thus, Barr meets the debate participation criteria advocated by Open Debates. Yet, ignoring the wishes of most American voters, the Commission on Presidential Debates will exclude Barr from all three presidential debates. On Friday, September 5, Open Debates issued the following press release highlighting the Zogby poll results: http://www.opendebates.org/Majoritysupport.html

Thank you for all your support!

-- Open Debates Team

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