DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCED FOR SMILEY’S PBS DEBATES: Obama, Clinton, Edwards among candidates to face off.

Posted by by Staff April 7, 2007 Add Comment News Politics

      (Akiit.com) Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson will participate in the “All-American Presidential Forums on PBS,” moderated by Tavis Smiley, on June 28, from 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET at Howard University in Washington, D.C.     

      Questions to the candidates will be posed by Smiley and journalists Michel Martin of National Public Radio, nationally syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. and USA Today and Gannett News Service columnist DeWayne Wickham. The event will be televised live on PBS.      

      “All-American Presidential Forums” marks the first time that a panel exclusively comprised of journalists of color will be represented in primetime. The candidates will be asked about issues ranging from healthcare and housing to Katrina relief, the economy and the environment, among others outlined in the No. 1 The New York Times best-seller, “Covenant With Black America.”

      “We are encouraged by the enthusiasm of all parties for this historic event,” said Smiley. “From the title to the format, the ‘All-American Presidential Forums’ was created to provide fresh perspectives and an unprecedented level of inclusion for all Americans in general, and people of color in particular, in these critical discussions about our country’s future.”

      The PBS Democratic Forum will be simultaneously webcast on PBS.org, and video of both events will be archived for download and viewing on the Web site. A second forum for Republican presidential candidates will be held on September 27, 2007, on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.