Back when Hillary Clinton first tried to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, she pushed hard for more than 18 debates with her rival, then-Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama declined to participate in any additional debates and said they were unnecessary, after which Clinton accused him of ignoring voters.
Now the tables appear to have turned, and Clinton is the one benefitting from fewer debates, at least according to her Democratic rivals.
Throughout the primary for the 2008 election, there were 26 Democratic debates between April 2007 and April 2008. Clinton attended all of them and Obama attended all but one. But heading into Indiana and North Carolina’s primary, with Obama pulling a sizable lead, he said he would not attend another debate that was to be hosted by CBS in North Carolina.
Clinton’s campaign said it was a snub. “On Monday, April 21, the debate was cancelled because Senator Obama refused to make time in his schedule,” the campaign wrote in a letter to North Carolina supporters. “On April 23 he brushed off North Carolinians again saying, ‘It’s not clear that another debate is going to be the best use of our time.’ Tell Senator Obama that having a debate in North Carolina is important to you.”
The Clinton campaign also sent an open letter to Obama’s team, requesting a “Lincoln-Douglas” style debate.
“Will there be no debates in other upcoming states?” the letter said. “The American people, of course, deserve more. They deserve debates before casting their votes. They deserve debates just like the states who have participated in this invigorating process before them.”
Obama declined again. He went on to win the party’s nomination.
And Clinton may have taken a page out of his book.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who are also Democrats running for president, have criticized the Democratic National Committee for only sanctioning six primary debates. The DNC has also said it will punish any candidate who tries to participate in debates outside of that schedule.
“This is totally unprecedented in our party,” O’Malley said at a DNC event on Friday, suggesting that the schedule is “rigged” to benefit Clinton.
In August, Sanders said in a statement that he was “disappointed” in the schedule.
“At a time when many Americans are demoralized about politics and have given up on the political process, I think it’s imperative that we have as many debates as possible, certainly more than six,” he said.
Though surrounded by controversy, Clinton maintains a significant lead in national polls and some early primary state polls for the nomination. Her lesser known rivals would stand to benefit from as much time possible debating her on national television, which generally leads to greater name recognition at very little cost.
The DNC has said it will not be adjusting its schedule, however.
“We are thrilled the candidates are so eager to participate in our debates,” a DNC spokeswoman told the Washington Post on Friday. “We believe that six debates will give plenty of opportunity for the candidates to be seen side-by-side. I’m sure there will be lots of other forums for the candidates to make their case to voters, and that they will make the most out of every opportunity.”
The Clinton campaign did not return a request for comment from the Washington Examiner media desk on whether she would be calling for more debates.
