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Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain
Random House
September 2011
On Sale: September 13, 2011
224 pages
ISBN: 1400069173
EAN: 9781400069170
Kindle: B004P8JPOA
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction
“In his quiet but intense way, Jim Lehrer earns the trust of
the major political players of our time,” notes Barbara
Walters. “He explains and exposes their hopes and dreams,
their strengths and failures as they try to put their best
foot forward.” From the man widely hailed as “the Dean of Moderators” comes
a lively and revealing book that pulls back the curtain on
more than forty years of televised political debate in
America. A veteran newsman who has presided over eleven
presidential and vice-presidential debates, Jim Lehrer gives
readers a ringside seat for some of the epic political
battles of our time, shedding light on all of the critical
turning points and rhetorical faux pas that helped determine
the outcome of America’s presidential elections—and with
them the course of history. Drawing on his own experiences
as “the man in the middle seat,” in-depth interviews with
the candidates and his fellow moderators, and transcripts of
key exchanges, Lehrer isolates and illuminates what he calls
the “Major Moments” and “killer questions” that defined the
debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain. Oftentimes these moments involve the candidates themselves
and are seared into our collective political memory. Michael
Dukakis stumbles badly over a question about the death
penalty. Dan Quayle compares himself to John F. Kennedy once
too often. Barack Obama and John McCain barely make eye
contact over the course of a ninety-minute discussion. At
other times, the debate moderators themselves become part of
the story—and Lehrer is there to give us a backstage look at
the drama. Peter Jennings suggests surprising the candidates
by suspending the carefully negotiated rules minutes before
the 1988 presidential debate—to the consternation of his
fellow panelists. Lehrer himself weathers a firestorm of
criticism over his performance as moderator of the 2000
Bush-Gore debate. And then there are the excruciating
moments when audio lines go dead and TelePrompTers stay dark
just seconds before going on the air live in front of a
worldwide television audience of millions. Asked to sum up his experience as a participant in
high-level televised debates, President George H. W. Bush
memorably likened them to an evening in “tension city.” In
Jim Lehrer’s absorbing insider account, we find out that
truer words were never spoken.
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