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January 5, 2008

The Three Candidates You Won't See at the Debate

There are three presidential candidates that have been excluded from the debate tonight. I caught up with the spouses of two of the candidates this afternoon to see what they thought about their husband's being left out.

Here's what I wrote:

Only two presidential spouses participated in the “Women Working Together to Make a Difference" forum Saturday afternoon.

The two spouses had clearer schedules than many of their competitors on Saturday. Their husband's were excluded from the presidential debate that would take place hours later.

Elizabeth Kucinich, the wife of Democratic Senator Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, and Whitney Stewart Gravel, the wife of Democratic Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska, fielded more than a dozen questions over the course of an hour at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, N.H.

Invitations were extended to the spouses of all the candidates, said Cassandra Burckhalter, the moderator of the forum. Due to scheduling conflicts, the other spouses could not attend, she said.

The most obvious scheduling conflict is Saturday night’s ABC, WMUR and Facebook Presidential Debate. The debate begins at 7 p.m. with the Republican debate and will be followed by the Democratic debate at 9 p.m.

Neither Gravel nor Kucinich were allowed to participate in Saturday’s debate. ABC told the Associated Press that candidates had to meet a certain level of support in order to participate.
Kucinich filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Friday. “ABC should not be the first primary,” Kucinich said in papers filed to the FCC that were obtained by the Associated Press.

Republican Duncan Hunter, though he wasn’t at the forum, was also excluded from the debate.

“I think it’s appalling,” Elizabeth Kucinich said after the forum. “It’s on the verge of subverting the democratic process.”

Whitney Stewart Gravel agreed. She and her husband have been told they can’t participate in debates because they haven’t spent enough time in New Hampshire, they don’t rank high enough in polls and they haven’t raised enough money. “Should political speech be limited based on money?” she said.

Both Elizabeth Kucinich and Whitney Stewart Gravel said they meet polling requirements in some polls.

At the forum, both spouses stressed the importance of an equal playing field for all candidates. They advocated for publicly-funded campaigns. “The private financing of elections means the private ownership of government and elections,” Elizabeth Kucinich said.

They also asked voters to vote for the candidate that truly represents them, rather than the candidate who they think could win in a general election. “You’re not voting for a candidate, you’re voting for yourself,” Elizabeth Kucinich said.

The forum also touched on healthcare, the war in Iraq, education and obesity.

-Andrew Restuccia

Posted by The Sun Newsroom at January 5, 2008 8:03 PM