Lehrer Reflects on Presidential Debates Before Sold-Out Crowd

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, October 07, 2011

Jim Lehrer is the man presidential candidates can agree about.

The longtime anchorman of PBS’ “NewsHour” has moderated 11 presidential debates, and recently chronicled the history of televised debates in his new book, “Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain.” He spoke on the topic before a sold-out audience at the Williamsburg Lodge on Thursday.

Colonial Williamsburg President Colin Campbell interviewed Lehrer in the style of James Lipton on “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” asking the journalist to reflect on his experiences as a moderator. Campbell asked Lehrer why he seems to be the preferred moderator in the verbal sparring matches.

“The reason is because they can’t ever agree on anyone else,” Lehrer said, getting laughter from the audience. He shared that in the 1996 election, President Bill Clinton suggested Oprah Winfrey moderate a debate, but Republican nominee Bob Dole’s camp rejected that idea. The only man they could settle on was Lehrer. He guessed it was because of his commitment to civil discourse. On “Newshour,” he said, “We want people to look at that and say, ‘That’s fair.’”

That doesn’t exclude him from making mistakes, however. He recounted previous embarrassments, such as cutting off George W. Bush when he still had time left on the clock, or attributing a statement to a television commercial for Al Gore, when it was actually from a press statement. Some of the mistakes might seem small, but on an international stage, something seemingly insignificant can make all the difference. “In a campaign, all they care about is winning, all they care about is the edge,” Lehrer said. “They’ll do anything to get an edge.”

For his book, Lehrer revisited the contenders to discuss those seemingly small moments that became big deals. In a 1992 town hall-style debate between Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot, Bush glanced at his watch. The glance was interpreted by many to be a sign he was bored, uninterested and disengaged. When Lehrer asked him about it again, years later, Bush said, “I really did want the damn thing to be over!” It was Bush who called the debate experience “tension city.”

Lehrer isn’t impressed with the most recent early debates between Republican candidates for 2012, partially because he thinks there are too many people on the stage with little time to speak. He said debates are adapting to the new social media, with moderators accepting questions via Twitter and Facebook; he feels that’s appropriate for primary debates, but he believes the final presidential debates should be old-fashioned.

He said the audience has more potential now to be better informed than at any other time in history. “There is no excuse for anybody not to know anything if they are part of the digital world,” he said. “If they aren’t part of the digital world, they will be deprived.”

During a question and answer session, an audience member asked Lehrer what he ranked as the most memorable exchange in a presidential debate. He said it was the arguments George W. Bush and John Kerry offered for and against the war in Iraq. “It was meaningful, precise, contrasting, substantive – an exchange about something that matters,” he said.

He finished the interview by giving credit to his novelist wife, Kate. When the stakes are as high as they are in a presidential debate, he needs to bounce ideas off someone he can trust, so he often turns to Kate. When he was preparing for his first debate, he told her he was nervous and shaking like a leaf.

“She said, ‘You think it’s rough for you? Think about those two guys! One mistake and they could lose the presidency,’” he said.

Lehrer, 77, has hosted NewsHour since September 1983. He is a senior trustee of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and recipient of its highest honor, the Churchill Bell. He has been recognized for numerous awards for excellence in journalism, including the Chairman’s Award at the 2010 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, the 1999 National Humanities Medal and this month, the National Press Club will present him with its top honor, the Fourth Estate Award.