The 2004 Democratic presidential candidates will file into Moore Auditorium Sunday to spend the afternoon discussing issues critical to women.
College officials have confirmed that as of Thursday night, Wesley Clark and Joe Lieberman will definitely be in attendance, and John Edwards has expressed that it is very probable he will attend. John Kerry and Howard Dean have not responded affirmatively, but still may be attending. Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton are not expected to participate in the debate.
The candidates will be appearing as part of Lifetime Television's national public advocacy campaign, Our Lifetime Commitment: Every Woman Counts, which will continue throughout this presidential election year in order "to ensure that women's voices are heard and that their votes make a difference." The Rockefeller Center and ABC "Good Morning America" will be cosponsoring the event.
Dartmouth public affairs director Laurel Stavis has said that the motivation for holding the debate on campus was to support an "interesting and intriguing" event from which the Dartmouth community could benefit.
The debate marks the first event this election year which specifically addresses women's issues. Topics to be addressed are the pay gap, education, violence and economic security.
The debate, which will be moderated by ABC's Claire Shipman, will give each of the candidates an opportunity to share their opinions on women's issues and to describe how they would handle these issues if they were elected. Shipman will then field questions from the audience, which will be composed of students, voters and national women's leaders.
"The women's vote will decide the next election, as it has since 1980," said political psychologist Martha Burke. "Candidates have an opportunity in New Hampshire to showcase their views on the issues women care most about. Those who address women's concerns directly are likely to strike a chord."
The nonpartisan Every Woman Counts campaign will run throughout the remainder of the election year on-air, online and in communities across the country with a series of national polls, nationwide voter registration efforts, training for women considering running for elected office, and events at both the Republican and Democrat National Conventions.
The fact that the debate takes place in New Hampshire just two days before the primary means that what the candidates say will be fresh in the minds of New Hampshire voters and will inevitably influence their voting patterns on Tuesday.
With the latest polls showing Kerry 10 percentage points above former frontrunner Dean in New Hampshire, the debate is expected to have a significant impact on the primary's results.
Those not lucky enough to earn one of the few seats to the debate will have the opportunity to watch the televised version Monday night on ABC. The debate will run on Lifetime as well.
