The moderators for the presidential and vice-presidential debates have been announced, and for the first time in presidential debate history, two of the moderators will be women. The inclusion of a women as the 2012 presidential debate moderator will be the first time since 1992, when ABC’s Carole Simpson became the first woman (and African-America) to moderate a debate.
The Commission on Presidential Debates released this morning that the moderators will be Jim Lehrer of PBS, Bob Schieffer of CBS, Candy Crowley of CNN and Martha Raddatz of ABC will be the moderators. The New York Times reports,
This comes after the recent online petition from three high-school girls from New Jersey, which reached 170,000 signatures in favor of having a female moderator. In a statement prepared by one of the women behind the petition and presented by the New York Times, Emma Axelrod spoke to the importance of having a female moderator:
“Through this campaign, millions of Americans learned that two decades passed without a woman moderating a U.S. presidential debate,” she continued, “We are so proud to have helped educate Americans on this issue and are extremely happy that women and girls watching the debates this year will see a potential role model up on the stage moderating.”
Again, the debates will be October 3, 11, 16, and 22. Will you be tuning in?