Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnBorn 12 Feb 1809At Freeport on 27 August 1858, Lincoln pressed Stephen Douglas on whether settlers could exclude slavery from a territory despite the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision. Douglas answered by stressing the need for local laws to sustain slavery. This was an Illinois Senate contest, but the exchange…0i
  2. 2John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyBorn 29 May 1917Kennedy's first television debate with Richard Nixon, on 26 September 1960, included a concrete disagreement about medical care for older Americans. Kennedy favoured financing it through Social Security; Nixon defended an alternative directed towards people unable to pay. Beneath their shared…0i
  3. 3Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganBorn 6 Feb 1911Facing Jimmy Carter on 28 October 1980, Reagan defended broad tax reductions as a route to investment and economic recovery. Carter challenged their inflationary effects and distribution. Their arguments made the proposed treatment of economic weakness unusually visible: the audience could compare…0i
  4. 4Walter MondaleWalter MondaleBorn 5 Jan 1928The domestic-policy debate of 7 October 1984 put Mondale's willingness to raise revenue against Ronald Reagan's defence of his economic programme. Both discussed reducing the deficit, but differed over taxes and who should bear the adjustment. Listen past their competing forecasts to the budget…0i
  5. 5Ross PerotRoss PerotBorn 27 Jun 1930In the 15 October 1992 town-hall debate, Perot warned that wage differences would draw American jobs to Mexico. George H. W. Bush defended NAFTA through the opportunities for exports, while Bill Clinton argued for trade on fairer terms. Perot's contribution made employment risk central to an…0i
  6. 6Al GoreAl GoreBorn 31 Mar 1948On 3 October 2000, Gore and George W. Bush disputed what to do with projected federal surpluses. Gore stressed debt reduction, public investment and targeted tax relief; Bush championed broader tax-rate cuts. The exchange is useful precisely because both promised benefits: comparing their…0i
  7. 7Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBorn 4 Aug 1961Obama and John McCain's 26 September 2008 debate exposed two different tests of judgement over Iraq. Obama returned to the decision to invade; McCain stressed military strategy and the consequences of withdrawal. Their disagreement made clear that an argument about how a war began and an argument…0i
  8. 8Mitt RomneyMitt RomneyBorn 12 Mar 1947In the 3 October 2012 debate, Romney argued for repealing the Affordable Care Act and giving states greater room to design health policy. Barack Obama defended national insurance protections and the law's approach to coverage. Their exchange is worth revisiting for the division of responsibility…0i
  9. 9Hillary ClintonHillary ClintonBorn 26 Oct 1947Clinton's 19 October 2016 exchange with Donald Trump set a proposed route to citizenship against his emphasis on a border wall and removals. She also defended border enforcement, while he deferred some decisions about other undocumented residents until after the border was secured. Those…0i
  10. 10Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel MacronBorn 21 Dec 1977The 3 May 2017 debate with Marine Le Pen made Macron's defence of the euro a practical economic argument. Le Pen proposed restoring a national currency while retaining a common currency for some uses; Macron challenged how that arrangement would operate. The exchange exposed a consequential…0i