Bush, Kerry set debate details

DERRY, N.H. — Negotiators for President Bush and Democrat John Kerry agreed Monday to three 90-minute debates beginning Sept. 30, including one town-hall format with questions from undecided voters.

The two campaigns essentially went along with recommendations from the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates — except for the proposed subject matter of the first and third debates.

The topic of the first meeting will be foreign policy and homeland security, rather than the economy as the commission had suggested. The final debate, which was to be on foreign policy, will now be about the economy.

Details of the agreement were announced by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, the chief negotiator for Bush, and attorney Vernon Jordan for Kerry.

The first debate will be Sept. 30 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. The second, a town-hall style format, will be Oct. 8 at Washington University in St. Louis, and the third will be held Oct. 13 at Arizona State University in Tempe.

One vice presidential debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards takes place Oct. 5 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Bush and Kerry "are pleased with today's announcement and look forward to the debates," Baker and Jordan said in a joint statement. Details were outlined in an accompanying 32-page document.

Kerry's campaign agreed to the commission's proposal for venues, dates and moderators in July, about a month after the commission released its schedule. Bush's campaign at first sought only to limit the scope to two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, according to those familiar with the negotiations.

The campaigns also agreed to the commission's choice of moderators: Jim Lehrer of PBS for the first, Charles Gibson of ABC for the second, Bob Schieffer of CBS for the third, and Gwen Ifill of PBS for the vice presidential debate.

The commission only invited the two major-party candidates. In the agreement, Bush and Kerry said that should circumstances change, and a third-party candidate be added, the candidate would have to abide by terms of their agreement. As of now, no minor-party candidate, including Ralph Nader, meets the commission's criteria for inclusion.

Bush and Kerry both agreed not to engage in any other debates, or debate-like events, sponsored by other organizations.