By Anthony Rifilato
The debate will be held in October, and could be a New Yorker's delight if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani survive the presidential primaries and win their parties' nominations. The Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonprofit organization that has sponsored and produced every presidential and vice presidential debate since 1988, chose Hofstra, and the debate will held at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, which seats more than 5,000 people.
Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz and others said the university was chosen because of its rich history in presidential studies and its ideal location and facilities. "We are extremely pleased and proud that the commission has chosen Hofstra University for one of America's most important political events," Rabinowitz said in a statement. "We plan to maximize every opportunity to involve students, faculty and the community in this historic event."
The school's Physical Fitness Center and other facilities will serve as a base for hundreds of journalists from around the world, visitors and event organizers. "Hosting the debate will be a unique opportunity to showcase Hofstra University and Long Island, our nation's first suburb, to a national and international audience," Rabinowitz said.
He added that Hofstra has a unique focus on the presidency. The university is home to the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency and the Peter S. Kalikow Chair in Presidential Studies. There have been 11 presidential conferences at the university, including "William Jefferson Clinton: The 'New Democrat' from Hope" in 2005, at which the former president delivered a keynote address.
New York has not hosted a presidential debate since 1960, when John F. Kennedy and then Vice President Richard Nixon squared off in a Manhattan television studio. Rabinowitz and others said they lobbied hard to host the event. During the application process, the university received support from federal, state, county and local officials, including County Executive Tom Suozzi and Town Supervisor Kate Murray, who were on hand to greet the commission's technical team when it inspected Hofstra's campus in April.
"This is really a credit to President Rabinowitz and everyone in Nassau County and New York state," Dr. Meena Bose, head of the college's Kalikow Chair and director of the nascent Center for the Study of the American Presidency, told the Herald. "It was really a joint effort between the university and local officials. I certainly think that the visibility and planning that goes into the debate means that we will see more media and government attention given to Long Island and Hofstra."
Bose said she initially believed that with two strong candidates from New York - Clinton and Giuliani - Hofstra's chances for winning the debate could be hurt, with the commission perhaps reluctant to show any geographic favoritism. "The only potential liability would have been the two leading contenders, but obviously that was not a concern," she said. "I thought that could play against us due to a perceived preference. But they looked at the school, its location and facilities as well as the quality of Hofstra's application."
The first two debates will held in Oxford, Miss., and Nashville, Tenn. Bose said that in the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 15, the candidates will discuss a defining issue in the campaign: foreign policy. "Of course it's an honor to be hosting a presidential debate, but it's significant in 2008 because it's such a wide-open race," she said. "We don't have a clear contender on the Democratic side, and it's an interesting sign."
Most of the tickets for the event will go to students, Bose said, adding that there will be a number of seminars, conferences and courses leading up to the debate and the election. "One of Hofstra's priorities is that students have an opportunity to participate," she said. "The whole purpose of the debates is to hear what the candidates have to say, unfiltered by other sources. Students will have a chance to see politics and public service up close."
