The Merits of Bringing Debates to Campus

By Broadside Opinion Columnist John Koblan

The current political buzz has rightfully been about the presidential debates. The first presidential debate was pretty even between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Both had their moments, but there was no breakout moment for either, like Ronald Reagan saying “there you go again” to President Jimmy Carter in 1980. However, the debate locations leave much to be desired.

The first debate was at the University of Mississippi. Mississippi is not a swing state at all. Mississippi last voted for a Democrat for president with Carter in 1976. In the last two presidential elections, Mississippi voted overwhelmingly for President George Bush with 57 percent in 2000 and 59 percent in 2004. According to Pollster.com, McCain currently leads Obama 53 to 41 percent in Mississippi. Mississippi is clearly a safe Republican bastion.

The second debate will be at Belmont University in Tennessee. Tennessee, especially in the east, is strongly Republican. Consider this: since 1881, Tennessee’s first and second Congressional districts have sent Republicans to Washington. Tennessee last went for a Democrat for president in 1996, and Al Gore didn’t even win his home state in 2000. According to Pollster.com, McCain leads Obama 55 to 36 percent in Tennesee. The volunteer state is clearly a Republican bastion.

The final debate will be at Hofstra University in New York, which is strongly Democrat.

Sure, it’ll elect a George Pataki or a Rudy Giuliani once in a while. However, the empire state last voted Republican in 1984. According to Pollster.com, Obama leads McCain 55 to 37 percent there.

The debates should be held in the swing states. None of the three states above are swing states, nor will they be anytime soon. A presidential debate in a swing state might actually up the ante as opposed to having the debate in a republican bastion like Mississippi, where it won’t make a difference on the outcome. Virginia has become a swing state recently. We voted for Bush in 2004, but sent Democrat Jim Webb to the United States Senate. Pollster.com has Obama at 47.8 percent and McCain at 47.6 percent. The last Presidential debate in Virginia was in 1992 at the University of Richmond.

I propose a challenge to George Mason University President Alan Merten. Virginia will probably be a swing state in 2012. The Mason Votes campaign has generated some buzz and political awareness on campus. However, a presidential debate would give us great exposure as a national university. It would build on our recent ranking as the number one school to watch and the success of our basketball team. According to a recent Newsday article, Wake Forest University and the University of Richmond reported a 10 to 20 percent spike in applications or donations after hosting a presidential debate.

The requirements would be a debate hall of 17,000 square feet, a ceiling height of 35 feet and a floor depth of 140 feet. The 2008 sites had to submit a non-refundable application fee of $7,500. The selected sites had to pay $1,350,000 to the Comission on Presidential Debates to cover the production costs of a single debate. Mason has great facilities, like the Center for the Arts and the Patriot Center. We have hosted Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Hardball with Chris Matthews. We are in a prime location, unlike the decaying dump that is Richmond. This would be an event that engages the student body and the local Fairfax community.

This would be a bold move and would pay off in spades with millions of free media and advertising for Mason. It would illustrate that we are a national university and one to watch. Our administration has to seriously think about getting the ball rolling on this (we all know it takes time for a big project to navigate the Mason administration). We have little to lose and the world to gain.