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The First Presidential Debate William J. Clinton Robert J. Dole The Bushnell Hartford, Connecticut October 6, 1996 Sponsored by The Commission on Presidential Debates

National Sponsors The Commission on Presidential Debates wishes to thank the following national sponsors for their generous contributions to the 1996 presidential debates. PHILIP MORRIS COMPANIES INC. ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMPANIES DUN & BRADSTREET SHELDON S. COHEN - MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIliS, LLP JOYCE FOUNDATION LUCENT TECHNOLOCIES THE MARJORIE KOVLER FUND SARA LEE CORPORATION SPRINT TWENTIETH CENTURY FUND IV O V W CO 4 00 O ~ O0

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Professional Services Ross, Dixon & Masback ConnseL Focused Images Photography Nikon Inc. Digital photography equipment Denburg & Low Certified Public Accountants Sydney Brooks Accounting services McDonnell Douglas Travel Company Travel Decatur Press, Inc. Prnlting Closed captioning courtesy of Sprint

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Commission on Presidential Debates Honorary Co-chairmen Former President Gerald R. Ford Former President Jimmy Carter Former President Ronald Reagan Co-chairmen Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. Paul G. Kirk, Jr. Directors Senator Paul Coverdell John C. Danforth Antonia Hernandez Caroline Kennedy Representative John Lewis Newton N. Minow Kay Orr Representative Barbara Vucanovich Executive Director Janet H. Brown

Staff Robert Asman Executive Producer Robert Neuman Director of Media Arrangements James Archer Heather Balas Qudrey Billingsley Illi ouise Billingsley Jean Cantrell Jane Gabel John Hoffland Joani Komlos TammV Lewis Peter O'Toole Noel Wanner Prodnctior Assistants Amelia Parker Consultant Wayne Wicks Technical Supervisor Bill Greenfield Lighting Designer Ted Van Bemmel, VANCO Lighting Services (a member of the Production Resource Group) Production Manager/ Technical Director Larrv Estrin, Best Audio Audio Supervisor Hugh Raisky Scenic Designer John Hodges and Michael Foley Set Construction Paul Byers Tinier

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is one of the oldest and most historically significant cities in the northeast; at the same time it is clearly focused on the future. Hartford was founded in 1636 when the Rev. Thomas Hooker led a party of 100 followers out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on a quest for religious freedom. Their arduous trip through the wilderness led them to a spot on the banks of the Connecticut River. Two years later, Hooker outlined the basic tenets of Fundamental Orders, the document generally conceded to have been the world's first written constitution. It is fair to say that America's form of + vernment was born here. The site where Hooker delivered this historic sermon, Connecticut's Old State House, celebrated its 200th anniversary earlier this year. Recently fully restored, it is the oldest state house in America and a building of historic importance not only to the citizens of Connecticut, but to all Americans. Ten U.S. presidents, from John Adams to George Bush have visited its halls. And when the French armies, under the leadership of General Compte de Rochambeau, came ashore during the American Revolution to join the colo- nials in their struggle against English rule, they were met, at that spot, by General George Washington. But while Hartford is a city with a rich history, it is not a city resting on its laurels. In recent years it has been the beneficiary of exiting new ideas, ini- tiatives and developments, including a vibrant and rapidly expanding arts and entertainment district. Prentice Hall's Places Rated Almanac ranked the Hartford metropolitan area 20th for cultural offering out of 343 cities in the United States and Canada. Hartford also offers The Bushnell Memorial Hall-Connecticut's premier performing arts center, a world class children's medical center, an award-winning riverfront revitalization project, some of the nation's largest insurance firms, and a large manufacturing community. The insurance and manufacturing industries make up greater Hartford's traditional economic base. These industries offer not only diversity, but the stability needed to build the economy of the future.

Commission on Presidential Debates Background The creation of the Commission on Presidential Debates was the direct result of a recommendation by the Commission on National Elections, a panel sponsored in 1985 by Georgetown University's Center for Strategic and International Studies. That panel, which was co-chaired by Melvin Laird and Robert Strauss, recommended that steps be taken to establish an organization whose sole purpose is to sponsor presidential and vice presidential debates during the general election period. A second study was conducted in 1986 at Harvard University's Institute of Politics under the sponsorship of the Twentieth Century Fund. Chaired by Newton N. Minow, the grot issued a final report, "For Great Debates," which also urged that such an or~anization be built. The Commission, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation, was estab- lished in 1987 and sponsored all presidential and vice presidential debates in 1988 and 1992. The television audience in both years set new records, cul- minating in 97 million viewers for the final 1992 debate. A 1995 Media Services Center poll suggests that almost half of American voters learn more about presidential candidates from televised debates than from an,v other source. The Commission was designed as an ongoing entity in the recognition that its lasting legacy lies in a continuing commitment to the value of debates and the educational information which they impart. To meet these goals, the Commission is engaged in many activities beyond producing and sponsor- ing the presidential debates. Commission staff have prepared educational materials used in schools, developed instructional videos on hosting debates for use by media and public interest groups at local and state levels, spon- sored research to improve the quality of debates, and is currently compiling an oral history of debates as recalled by living American Presidents. Further, the Commission has provided technical assistance to emerging democracies interested in establishing debate traditions. In the last two years, Commission staff have assisted groups from Brazil, South Africa, Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Namibia, among others. The Commission's directors are deeply grateful to the many individuals Rnd organizations whose generous support and cocrosel have made our achieve- ments possible. We look forward to making a productive and historic con- tribution to the 1996 election.

Hartford Donors Founders Bank of Boston Phoenix Trinitv College SNET Patrons Aetna Hartford Foundation for Public Giving ITT Hartford Travelers Foundation United Technologies Corporation Sponsors Waterford Hotels/Mohegan Sun/Sun International Greater Hartford Convention and Visitor's Bureau Hartford Courant Heublein Loctite NU Tenneco U.S. Surgical UST Connecticut Hospitals: (St. Francis, St. Marv's, Backus, Bristol, Hartford Hospital, Hospital for Special Care, New Britain Hospital, Eastern Connecticut Health Network) AARP Advest CIGNA Echlin Inc. Fleet Hartford Steam Boiler People's Bank Tosco Corporation Xerox Corporation Supporters Arthur Andersen/Andersen Consulting Barnes Group CBIA CNG Fannie Mae Hartford Courant Foundation State Street Bank Value Health Webster Bank WFSB-TV3 Coopers and Lybrand General Dynamics Kaman Corporation KPMG Peat Marwick Ano-Coil Corporation Greater Hartford Realty Corporation Carroll J. Hughes JSB Funding Inc. Mechanics Savings Bank Saving Bank Life Insurance Company Stanley Cohen WKND Radio In-Kind Sponsors Bingham, Dana and Gould LLP Elkinson and Sloves City of Hartford Ikon Office Solutions State of Connecticut AM Lithography Magnani Press Yankee Offset American Airlines Sheraton Hotel Hartford Advocate

St. Petersburg Times/City of St. Petersburg/University of South Florida/St. Petersburg- Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau/WTVT Ch. 13, Tampa Stand for Children Stennis Center for Public Service Study Circles Resource Center Tarleton State Uniaersity, Fine Arts & Speech Department Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation Unitarian Universalist Association United States Chamber of Commerce United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce United States Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce University of Arizona University of California at Los Angeles University of Cincinnati, Communication Department University of Kansas, Department of Communication Studies L'nk ersity of Maryland, Center for Political Leadership and Participation/ Speech Communication Department University of New Hampshire Unicersity of Oklahoma/Oklahoma League of Women Voters University of Richmond University of San Diego University of Tennessee at Martin, School of Arts and Sciences/Honors Program Unruh Institute of Politics, Unicersity of Southern California Urban Family Institute Villanova University, Communication Arts Department Voice of America Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Wayne State University, Department of Communication West Chester University, Communication Studies Department West Virginia University Parkersburg Wichita State University, Elliott School of Communication Women's Vote Project World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Young Democrats Young Republicans Youth Vote'96

Council for the Advancement of Citizenship Council of American Private Education Cuban American National Council Democracy Project, PBS Dirksen Center for Congressional Studies Domino's Pizza - Team Washington Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library Episcopal Church House Faith and Politics Institute Federal Voting Assistance Program Florissant Valley Community College, Phi Theta Kappa Front Lash Gerald R. Ford Library Girls Inc. Franklin & Marshall College, Department of Government Fraternal Order of Police General Federation of Women's Clubs George Mason University, Communication Department George Washington University Georgetown University Student Government Hebb & Gitlin, Attorneys at Law Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility Howard University, Political Science Department I-Chat Illinois State University, Communication Department Institute of Governmental Studies, Universit,v of California at Berkeley Johns Hopkins University John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library Kansas State University, Department of Speech KidsVoting USA Lutheran Volunteer Corps George C. Marshall Foundation Mercyhurst College Mesican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) Miller Center at the University of Virginia Minnesota E-Democracy National Archives National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) N O V W cD A O ~ O W

Voter Education DebateWatch '96, a program encouraging citizens to watch, discuss, and evaluate the presidential debates, is the Commissiori s nationwide voter edu- cation project. More than 130 organizations will participate by distributing information or actively organizing DebateWatch groups. DebateWatch will bring citizens together in schools, libraries, movie theaters, or private homes to watch and discuss this fall's debates. The compilation and analysis of DebateWatch research is being unde ritten by a grant from the Ford Foundation and directed by Dr. Diana Ca lin of the University of Kansas. The Commission wishes to thank the foll wing organizations for joining in its voter education efforts. American Association of Community Colleges American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) American Librarv Association American Association of Universitv Professors American Association of University Women American Medical Student Association American Pharmaceutical Association - Academv of Students of Pharmac_v Arizona State Unkersity, Communication Department Beloit College Black Entertainment Television (BET) Bovs & Girls Clubs of America - TEENSupreme Keystone Clubs Bush Presidential Materials Project/Texas A&M Speech Communication Department/Presidential Rhetoric Program Campus Green Vote Jimnrv Carter Library Catholic Communittat the Unicersity of California at San Diego Center for Policv Alternntices - National Student Voter Education Dav Child Welfare League of America Children's Defense Fund Close Up Foundation College Democrats College Republicans Concord Coalition Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Institute Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Connecticut Council of Municipalities/Secretar,v of State/League of Women V'oters / Hartford Debate '96

National Association of Black School Educators National Association of Broadcasters National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc. National Association of Graduate and Professional Students National Association of Hispanic Publications National Association of Retired Federal Employees National Association of Secretaries of State National Association of Towns and Townships National Association of Truck Stop Operators ~ National Cable Television Associatio n National Catholic Schools Education Association National Conference of Black Political Scientists National Council for Social Studies National Democratic Institute National Forensic League National League of Cities National Nethcork for Youth National Newspaper Association National ParHellenic Cormcil National Puerto Rican Fornm National Student/Parent Mock Election Northwestern University; School of Speech Office of the Mavor, Charlotte, NC Office of the Mavor, Dallas, TX Office of the Mayor, Detroit, MI Office of the Mayor, Jackson, MS Office of the Mayor, Oklahoma City, OK Office of the Mayor, Orem, UT Office of the Macor, Primera, TX Office of the Macor, Robhinsdale, MN Office of the Macor, Rutland, VT Organization of Chinese Americans Phi Theta Kappa Project Vote Smart Rock the Vote Ronald Reagan Library Southeast Missouri State Universitt; Department of Speech Communication Speech Communication Association

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