The 1984 United States presidential election debates were held during the 1984 presidential election. Three debates were held between Republican candidate, incumbent president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

former vice president Walter Mondale, the major candidates. One debate was held with their vice presidential running mates, incumbent vice president

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

and congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.

Debate schedule

October 7: First presidential debate (Center for the Performing Arts)

The first debate between president Ronald Reagan and former vice president Walter Mondale took place on Sunday, October 7, 1984 at the Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky. The debate was moderated by

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

of ABC News and featured a panel featuring

James Wieghart James Gerard Wieghart ( ; August 16, 1933 (Niles, Michigan) – February 21, 2010 (Clare, Michigan)) was an American editor and newspaperman and a minor figure in the Iran Contra affair. Career Wiegart grew up mostly in Niles, Michigan. After high ...

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

, Diane Sawyer of ABC News, and Fred Barnes of

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''.'' The topics were economic and domestic policy issues.

October 11: Vice presidential debate (Pennsylvania Hall Civic Center)

The vice presidential debate between vice president George H. W. Bush and congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro took place on Thursday, October 11, 1984 at the Pennsylvania Hall Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The debate was moderated by Sander Vanocur of ABC News and featured a panel featuring John Mashek of U.S. News & World Report, Jack White of Time, Norma Quarles of NBC News, and Robert Boyd of Knight-Ridder Newspapers. The topics were domestic and foreign affairs. The result was proclaimed mostly even by newspapers, television, other media, and historians. pp. 785ff. p. 966. Women voters tended to think Ferraro had won, while men, Bush. pp. 103, 107–108. Some media, however, either declared Bush or Ferraro the winner. The candidates were both praised for their ability to debate.

Bush, Ferraro experience exchange

Ferraro handled a question about her experience at the debate, after being asked how her three House terms stacked up with Bush's two House terms, career as an ambassador to China and the United Nations,

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...

and four years as Vice President. The peak of the experience battle came when, during a discussion of the

Carter administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican President ...

in Iran and the Reagan administration in Lebanon, Bush said, "Let me help you with the difference, Mrs. Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon." Ferraro responded to cap what '' The New York Times'' termed "a bristling exchange", "Let me just say first of all, that I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy."

October 21: Second presidential debate (Music Hall, Municipal Auditorium)

The second and final debate between president Ronald Reagan and former vice president Walter Mondale took place on Sunday, October 21, 1984 at the Music Hall, Municipal Auditors in Kansas City, Kansas. The debate was moderated by Edwin Newman, formerly of NBC News and featured a panel featuring Georgie Anne Geyer of Universal Press Syndicate,

Marvin Kalb Marvin Leonard Kalb (born June 9, 1930) is an American journalist. Kalb was the founding director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy from 1987 to 1999. The Shor ...

of NBC News, and Morton Kondracke of

. The topics were defense and foreign policy issues. The debate is often seen as a victory for Reagan, most famously due to the line "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience," it was received with laughter from the audience, and Mondale himself. Mondale later said that it was this moment when he realized he would lose the election.

References

External links

Full video of the debate
on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

{{United States presidential debates 1984 United States presidential election October 1984 events in the United States 1984 in Pennsylvania

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...