Elections: Debating the 1976 Debates: Establishing a Tradition of Negotiations

Abstract

The 1976 presidential campaign brought televised presidential debates back to the presidential campaign after a 16-year absence. Like every presidential campaign debate, the 1976 debates were carefully planned and negotiated before they aired in the fall. The negotiators, much like the negotiators in 1960, gained control of the negotiations as well as the debates. This article culls together information from many sources to reveal how the 1976 debates were negotiated between the Ford and Carter campaigns as well as the League of Women Voters. This article is part of a larger project to develop a theory of presidential debate negotiation.