UC Political Science Faculty, Alumnus to Debate the Debate at Oct. 16 Presidential Debate Watch

A panel made up of those with long-time Washington, D.C., careers as well as University of Cincinnati political science faculty will help guide both “pre” and “post” discussion of the second presidential debate, which is set for

Tuesday, Oct. 16

.

The Oct. 16 presidential debate watch in the Great Hall of UC’s Tangeman University Center is

free and open to the public

. It will include:

• 8:30 p.m. – Advice from an expert panel on what to listen for and how to “read between the lines”
• 9 p.m. – Debate broadcast
• 10:30 p.m. – Reaction to the debate from both the panel and the audience
  

Serving on the UC expert panel as part of the debate watch will be

• UC political science alumnus Joe diGenova, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia

• Victoria Toensing, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice

• Richard Harknett, head of UC’s political science department and an expert on international security and American national security

• Stephen Mockabee, UC associate professor of political science and expert in American government and religion and politics
  

According to Harknett, “Both of our guest panelists are political policy experts with anti-terrorism government experience and given recent events in the Middle East, will be able to provide perspective on how security concerns play out in the debate as well as comment on domestic issues.”

He added that the event is important given that Ohio is a vital, swing state.

Said Harknett, “Because Ohio is a large, swing state, our votes definitely count. We in Ohio have a great deal of influence on the outcome of the race. Due to that, we need to be as informed as possible on the issues and candidates.”