Watermark Books and Cafe

Pull up a chair and join the remarkable Jim Lehrer telling stories as they occurred before, during, and after the presidential debates of the last 50 years. Having moderated most of the debates (11 to be exact) Lehrer knows how to distill all the details to the most prescient. Considering advance preparation, venue, broadcast network, how the questions are framed and agreed upon in advance, and whether make up makes a difference, Lehrer brings so much to what we already know that the debate itself seems incidental. He examines how each debate influenced popular opinion and, through interviews with moderators and debaters after the fact, we learn how the participants feel about what happened.   

In the chapter called “Killer Questions” Lehrer focuses on two debates: The Dukakis-Bush debate; and the Bentson-Quayle debate. The first killer question was posed to Michael Dukakis and included a reference to his wife being raped and/or murdered and had to do with the death penalty. You remember the question, right?  Well, here you’ll learn about the audacity of the moderator and how the questions played with the other moderators. The second and third killer questions were posed to Quayle and Bentsen and are discussed in relation to each other.  Quayle was asked about his reputation as someone inexperienced for the office of the Vice President, and Bentsen was asked about how he could serve under a president he didn’t agree with on most issues. 

The chapter called “The Big Sighs” examines the Bush/Gore debates in which Gore shook his head, sighed heavily and used his body language to express his thoughts about Bush as he responded to questions. Remember that? Lehrer, the moderator, missed the whole charade; he has a rule to keep his eyes (showing no emotion) on whoever is answering a question. His daughter Amanda filled him in the following morning. 

Getting the whole story of a debate takes extensive research, including interviews with the candidates and moderators, the network people and campaign staff. Lehrer, in his conversational, yet journalistic, style has produced an entertaining, thought provoking book. 

Don’t miss this informative and important (did I mention slim?) political book. It will change the way voters see what may be the most revealing platform for our presidential contenders.  

Review by Sarah Bagby

Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain (Hardcover)

By Jim Lehrer

$26.00

ISBN-13: 9781400069170
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Random House, 9/2011

Other Editions of this Title

---