The Hofstra Debate

History is about to be made at Hofstra University, and excitement is building to a crescendo among the school's nearly 11,000 students.  On Monday evening, Democrat Hillary Clinton will face Republican Donald Trump in a presidential debate that will likely be the most watched television program in U.S. history.   It will also be the first time in American history a woman presidential candidate from a major party will debate during a general election.   

Hofstra University 

The Hofstra debate will be a major turning point in the election.  While Clinton is ahead in the polls, her lead is fragile.  Meanwhile, Trump has shown some momentum recently, and he has even pulled ahead in polls from key battleground states, like Ohio and North Carolina.  Political advisors for both candidates are vigorously playing the expectations game so as to favorably position their candidate in advance with the press.   If expectations are low for Trump, a good debate performance by him may win him more supporters.

Each candidate has major hurdles to overcome in how they are perceived by Americans.  Trump is viewed as more trustworthy than Clinton by likely voters in an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, but she outperforms him overwhelmingly in temperament, being a good commander-in-chief, and experience.  Trump holds an edge over Clinton in who would be best to handle the economy.   Clinton enjoys a strong lead among minorities, women and young voters.  Trump does well with men, white voters and those without a college degree.  Interestingly, half of Trump's likely voters say they will vote for him because they are against Clinton.   

A majority of Americans polled want a change in Washington, and that frustration with government gridlock and political bickering fueled the rise of Trump.  Trump has campaigned as the change agent while Clinton has had difficulty clearly articulating how she would change Washington.   Trump's loyal supporters don't care what he says and how he says it.  But temperament will be a big factor in winning over independent and uncommitted voters.  So Trump is likely to be on his best behavior Monday night in hopes of securing undecided voters.  Conversely, Clinton will not be able in a single debate to get more voters to think she is more trustworthy.  But she may be able to use her enormous experience to overshadow Trump on key issues.

This will be the third presidential debate held at Hofstra University, which is more than any other university.  During the 2012 Hofstra debate Governor Mitt Romney spoke of "binders full of women," and in the 2008 Hofstra debate Senator John McCain repeatedly brought up "Joe the Plumber."  This year's debate will be moderated by NBC News' Lester Holt.  There will be six 15-segments, for a total of 90-minutes.  The topics, chosen by Holt, will be "America's direction," "achieving prosperity" and "securing America."   The candidates will have an opportunity to respond directly to each other.  

To be sure, Trump and Clinton will try hard to avoid making gaffs that may change the course of the election.   But will Clinton look healthy?  How will she handle questions about her emails?  Will Trump be able to endure 90-minutes of tough questions?  Will he explain his positions on issues in-depth, like his "secret plan" to eliminate ISIS?  And how will the recent police shootings factor into the debate?

Hofstra took over the debate on short notice when Wright State University in Ohio pulled out in July for financial reasons.  Hofstra's president, Stuart Rabinowitz, said at the time, "We greatly appreciate the faith shown in us by the Commission on Presidential Debates."  Now, six weeks later, security around this 250 acre campus in Hempstead, NY, will be unprecedented. Monday's classes have been cancelled, many parking lots and some nearby major routes will be shut all day.  Meanwhile, hundreds of media outlets will take up positions on campus as Hofstra becomes the political epicenter of the universe for one day.  

As one student wrote in her blog, "I firmly believe that this debate is an incredible opportunity not only for the university, but for the students who dream of building and shaping these events in the future."   

The Professor

Hofstra University's "Newshub" with some students in Journalism 75

Journalism Professor

People often ask me how I like being a journalism professor. I always answer that it is great, especially because of the students.

During the fall 2012 term, I taught four courses at two universities. I am a full-time associate professor at Hofstra University, which is located in Hempstead, New York, a thirty minute drive from my Manhattan home. Their journalism school is part of the university's School of Communication. Hofstra has excellent facilities and a very strong radio and television program, along with a first rate public relations school. I teach three courses at Hofstra, including multimedia journalism, broadcast writing and something I call TV newscast.

This past Monday we aired our final newscast of the semester. Here I am pictured with my editorial team.

I am also an adjunct journalism professor at New York University, where I have taught for six years. The Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute is part of NYU's College of Arts and Sciences. They have wonderful facilities in the historic East Village, near the Cooper Union and Astor Place.

While I have taught basic television reporting, I now primarily teach video and television production. In the spring I teach graduate students Digital Newsroom, which creates a thirty minute newscast each week. In the fall, I teach undergraduates how to produce a newscast. In both cases the students at NYU not only function as journalists, they must also handle all of the technical positions as well.

Tonight my 2012 undergraduate class completed its final broadcast for the term. Here I am joined for a post broadcast picture by students and NYU's director of operations, Adrian Mihai.

Take a good look at both of these pictures. In particular focus on the students. They are the reason I love being a journalism professor.

Obama Delivers

President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney collided at the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in a historic and rancorous face off. The president won this debate, but Romney showed that his performance in Denver was not a fluke.

Results of a CBS News "snap poll" of uncommitted voters had 37% calling President Obama the winner, while 30% gave the nod to Romney. A CNN poll gave Obama the win 46% to 39%.

Both candidates were in full attack mode, each delivering direct verbal blows on their opponent. The president did not shrink from the fight, and neither did Romney, who at times came off as bullying the moderator and the president. There were several raw and emotional exchanges in response to questions asked by undecided voters chosen for the town hall debate.

Romney was strongest on the economy, touting his own five-point plan while calling the president's term a failure. "The president's policies have been exercised over the last four years, and they haven't put people back to work." But the president retorted, "He doesn't have a five-point plan, he has a one-point plan, and that's to make sure people at the top play by different rules...The last thing we need to do is go back to the same policies that got us there," into a recession.

Romney spoke of his proposal to lower taxes, "I'm going to bring rates down across the board...I'm not going to have people at the high end paying less than they pay now...I will not under any circumstances increase taxes on the middle class." But the president criticized his opponent for not specifying how he would pay for the $5 trillion tax cut. Speaking directly to Romney, he said, "You wouldn't have taken such a sketchy deal, and neither should the American people, because the math doesn't add up."

The president scored points on immigration, reminding viewers that Romney believed in "self-deportation." He also scored points on equal pay for women when he pointed out that the first thing he did as president was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women. This also gave the president a chance to remind viewers that Romney would defund Planned Parenthood, an all important issue for many women.

One questioner asked about what happened at the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, where 4 Americans were killed in a terrorist attack. The former governor criticized the president's foreign policy in the region, and the White House's evolving explanation of the incident. But Romney mistakenly claimed the president did not call it "an act of terrorism" in the White House Rose Garden the next day, an inaccurate right wing blog claim. But moderator Candy Crowley, of CNN, embarrassingly corrected Romney.

Romney' returned again and again to the president's failures in his first term. For his part, the president listed his successes, including saving the auto industry, adding more than 5 million private sector jobs, health care, ending the war in Iraq and decimating Al Qaeda.

Romney kept coming back to the economy, always speaking confidently about his ability to fix it if he is elected president. He reminded viewers he was a successful businessman who knows how to create jobs. In his summation, at the end of the debate, he said, “I care about 100% of the American people. I want 100% of the American people to have a bright and prosperous future. I care about our kids.”

President Obama didn't miss this opportunity to remind viewers that the former governor once told donors at a Florida fundraiser that 47% of Americans do not pay taxes and are not personally responsible. "Think about who he was talking about: folks on Social Security who've worked all their lives, veterans who've sacrificed for this country," the president said, “That wasn’t a handout, that was something that advanced the entire country, and I want to make sure that the next generation has those same opportunities. That's why I'm asking for your vote and that's why I'm asking for another four years.”

Now the campaigns can look ahead to next week's final debate in Florida. After the Hofstra debate it is clear that this tightly contested election will be a fight to the finish.