The First Debate is Tonight!

Rock the Vote is hosting 30 debate watching parties tonight throughout the country, and we’d love for you to come on down to these presidential hoedowns.

Some will be held at Hard Rock Cafes, others are hosted by Rock the Vote street teams.
Tonight’s debate begins at 9:00pm EST and lasts until 10:30pm EST.

You can find out the location of the party nearest you by clicking here.

We’re going to have a McCain. We’re going to have an Obama. We’re going to have some fun as we watch two of our potential commanders in chief answer pressing questions of the day.

Bring some friends!

And, even if you can’t make it to one of these events, you should definitely watch or listen to the debates. Glue yourself to the television if you have to. Actually listen to the radio you’ve got in your room but that you haven’t turned on in God knows how long. You might even decide to use your computer to watch a live stream of this thing.

Maybe you want to invite some friends over to watch the debate and have a good time – check out our debate party hosting guide for tips on how to make that event big.

But, most importantly, you should watch the debate so you can experience firsthand a significant part of one of the greatest political dramas our country has ever seen unfold. This debate's taking place at a crossroads in our history: we've got an economy that must be fixed and a foreign policy that has led to great contention at home and abroad.

Watch and listen to what the candidates have to say; know what they believe and what they dream so you can make the most informed decision you can when you cast your ballot.

It’s the first of three presidential debates, and a vice presidential debate between Biden and Palin is also around the corner.

Make sure to bring your enthusiasm.

P.S. -> Here’s a schedule of the debates coming up after tonight’s (each one is scheduled to occur from 9:00pm EST to 10:30pm EST):

Vice Presidential Debate: Thursday, October 2
Second Presidential Debate: Tuesday, October 7
Third Presidential Debate: Wednesday, October 15

Have some good political fun.

Was the YouTube Debate the Debate for Young Voters?

Did you catch the CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential Debates Monday night? We sure hope you did, because a good portion of the media coverage has been emphasizing that this was the debate where young voters finally were heard. This debate, held in Charleston, South Carolina was a bit more nontraditional, for the questions were asked not by a famous news personality, but rather by average Americans who submitted their queries over the popular video website YouTube (though the debate was moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper). Though many newspapers and blogs posted varied opinions about the candidates' performances or the technology used in the debate are undoubtedly varied, many of the articles agreed that young voters had a disproportionate role in the debates:

• The Associated Press reported that the submitted questions "were blunt and earnest, yet sometimes bizarre...[with] most of them coming from young people."
• The Boston Globe commented that "the unusual forum allowed many Americans access to the political process, since questioners did not need to travel to the debate site to ask questions. Further, the Internet-age nature of the debate was appealing to young voters, a growing political force which has been active in online political activity but less likely than older voters to watch formal debates."
• The American Prospect hypothesized what makes this debate seem so different. Answer: "the people asking the questions. Maybe because only people under 30 can operate a webcam, the men and women addressing the candidates here have a very different set of priorities. A lesbian couple from Brooklyn asks if they should be allowed to get married. A young black man demands that the candidates reveal if they support reparations for slavery. A student wonders if 18-year old women should be required to register for the draft."
• The Baltimore Sun goes as far to call those aged 18-28 "the YouTube generation," and jabs that it is them "who spend hours in front of their computers every day - and are less likely to vote than older Americans."
• The Bayou Buzz claims the popularity of the debates to be evidence "that the youth are plugged into the presidential election like never before."
• And Rush Limbaugh speculates that the Democratic Party was eager to work with YouTube since it will encourage young voter turnout on Election Day.
  

In case you didn't catch the debate, watch the questions again on YouTube, and then log on to the New York Times or CNN to view the candidates' answers. In either case, do you think that this debate (along with the upcoming CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate in September) adequately addresses youth issues?

Must See TV

(Photo: Monica Almeida/The New York Times)

The Republican presidential candidates are having their first debate tonight at 8pm EST at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It will be moderated by Chris Matthews and will be aired on on MSNBC.

The list of expected participants includes:
Sam Brownback, a senator from Kansas
Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York.
Jim Gilmore, the former governor of Virginia.
Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas
Duncan Hunter, a congressman from California
John McCain, a senator from Arizona
Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas
Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts
Tom Tancredo, a congressman from Colorado
Tommy Thompson, a former governor of Wisconsin

Adam Nagourney has a post on the Caucus (the NYT's political blog) about what to watch for during the debate.