The 2004 Democratic presidential hopefuls will spar in a televised debate at Dartmouth Jan. 25, College officials are expected to announce today.
The debate, developed for months in secret by national media and Dartmouth officials, will mark the first time the candidates meet to address a pre-set theme of women's issues.
Still unconfirmed, though, is whether all eight candidates will attend. Hanover and the rest of the Upper Valley lie far from the state's population base in Manchester and Portsmouth, and some candidates may opt to stay there rather than participate.
Lifetime Television and ABC News have sponsored the debate, which is slated to air on television Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, the day of the New Hampshire primary. Segments of the debate will then be shown on Lifetime, various ABC broadcasts and the network's "Good Morning America" program.
"Good Morning America" correspondent Claire Shipman will moderate the late afternoon event, Dartmouth Public Affairs director Laurel Stavis said Thursday evening.
Moore Theater has been tapped as the debate's venue, but seats have yet to be assigned.
Rockefeller Center director Linda Fowler said Dartmouth will probably instate a student lottery system for tickets, but not until a later date.
"Our major priority is to have a system that's fair in terms of allocating the seats," Fowler said.
Women's organizations, from the League of Women Voters to the Women of Color Collective, have also been invited to attend, Fowler said, adding that she expected "a heavy representation" from members of such groups.
The debate, initiated by Lifetime, is part of the cable network's year-long "Every Woman Counts" initiative to promote women's participation in the political process.
Organizers expressed hope that the presidential primary debate would be as successful as Dartmouth's last, two back-to-back "town meetings" in late October 1999. The 1999 events witnessed Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., on stage together for the first time, and animated back-and-forth between the Republican candidates: Arizona Sen. John McCain, publisher Steve Forbes, conservative activist Gary Bauer, commentator Alan Keyes and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush did not attend.
The 1999 debates also brought international media attention to Dartmouth and Hanover.
"The Green was completely ringed with satellite dishes," Fowler recalled.
But this time around, the situation is less certain.
"This has been late in coming together," Fowler said. "There are still some things that could change quickly, but we're optimistic."
