Hofstra hosting presidential debate next fall
BY REID J. EPSTEIN |reid.epstein@newsday.com- November 20, 2007
Hofstra University will host the final 2008 presidential debate next October, perhaps lending a home-state platform to one or both of the major-party candidates.
The debate, announced yesterday and scheduled for Oct. 15, is slated to focus on the candidates' foreign policy positions, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan organization that sponsors and produces the general election debates.
Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz called the attention the school will receive from the debate "priceless." More than 51 million people watched the final debate in 2004 between President George W. Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry.
"I don't think you can put a dollar figure on it," he said.
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi said the choice illustrated the growing importance of the suburban vote.
"We're one of the nation's first suburbs and suburbs are becoming a more important part of the nation's politics," Suozzi said.
Along with focusing attention on Hofstra and Long Island, the debate could mark a homecoming for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) or former New York City GOP Mayor Rudy Giuliani, or both - provided they survive the presidential primaries and become their parties' nominees.
A third-party candidate would need to have a 15 percent support level in national polls at the time of the debate to be included, according to the commission's rules.
A total of 16 sites, most of them colleges or college affiliates, bid to host the debates in 2008, said the commission. While the commission gave no reason for its choices, and officials there did not return calls yesterday, Rabinowitz credited widespread support from the political and business communities on Long Island and New York State.
Rabinowitz said the university has lined up private donors to cover the estimated $2.35 million cost for the debate. He declined to name the donors yesterday.
"Hofstra was the perfect choice," Schumer said, "with the enthusiastic support of the campus and the entire region there is no question Hofstra has the will and the resources to host an historic event on LI."
The debate will take place at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, which seats up to 5,046 people. Rabinowitz said the commission will determine the debate's logistics. The university may not know the number of tickets it has available until the day of the debate, Rabinowitz said.
"Whatever tickets the university has, all or virtually all will go to students," he said.
The other presidential debates are set for Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss., and Oct. 7, in Nashville, Tenn. The sole vice presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 2 in St. Louis.
Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith said it is too early to estimate how much of the debate's security will fall to county police. The Secret Service will delegate some responsibilities, such as transportation, to Nassau Police at some point in the future, Smith said.
THE 2008 DEBATES
FORMAT Each debate will begin at 9 p.m. and run 90 minutes. A single moderator will question the candidates, who will sit together at a table except for the Nashville debate, which will be "town-hall" style.
