The Kerry campaign announced Wednesday that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will be staying at the House on the Rock Resort in Spring Green, Wis., Sept. 26-29 to prepare for the upcoming presidential debates.
While Kerry will not be holding any formal campaign events, he may venture into the local community.
\George Bush is a very skilled debater,"" said George Twigg, Kerry's Wisconsin spokesperson.
""Kerry is going to be spending a lot of time hitting the books.""
Presidential candidates usually retreat somewhere to prepare for the debates, according to UW-Madison political science Professor Virginia Sapiro. They often have someone act as the opponent in mock debates and prepare large briefing books of possible questions.
The first presidential debate will be held Sept. 30 at the University of Miami, followed by debates at Washington University in St. Louis, Oct. 8, and Arizona State University, Oct. 13. The first debate will focus on domestic issues and the third will focus on foreign policy. The second will be a town hall meeting-style debate, where candidates will receive questions from undecided voters.
A vice-presidential debate will take place Oct. 5, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Wisconsin is a battleground state and Bush holds the state by only two percent, according to Wispolitics.com. Kerry's choice of locations to prepare for the debate is just one more way to visit Wisconsin, Sapiro said.
""If it's another opportunity for undecided voters to get to know Sen. Kerry, it could make a difference,"" Twigg said. ""Every little bit helps.""
Both candidates are considered to be skilled debaters and bring different skills to the debate, UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Jones said.
""Bush is the president and has all the advantages of an incumbent who is aware that the first debate is foreign policy, knows the rationale for what they are doing and has projected a sense of consistency,"" Jones said. ""Kerry's advantage is the combination of being able to be critical of the Iraq war and his own presumed skills as a debater, which are judged to be better than the president's.""
Iraq and the war on terror are expected to be the major issues in the debates. Voting behavior suggests that voters trust the Republican Party over the Democrats on issues of national security, Jones said.
""[Kerry]'s having a hard time trying to square those positions [on Iraq]. It takes time for voters to figure out,"" Jones said.
