Format has been a part of the debates ever since then. I think the National Debt affects everybody. It has a lot to do with interest rates. On a personal basis, how has it affected you personally . I am sure it has. N ve my grandchild re how . Are you suggesting if somebody has means that the National Debt does not affect them . Help me with the question and then i know people who cannot afford to pay the mortgage on their homes. I have problems with the National Debt, but how is it affecting you . If you have more experience in it, how can you help us . She means the recession, the economic problems today. You ought to be in the white house every day and hear what i hear and see what i see and read the mail that i read and touch the people. I was in a ame church, a black church outside of washington, and i read in the bulletin about teenage pregnancies, about the difficulty that families are having to make ends meet. I talked to parents we got to care. Everybody cares at people are not doing well. I do not think it is fair to say that you have not had cancer, therefore, you do not know what it is like. Whenever it is, if you had not been hit by it personally, everybody is affected by that that, because of the tremendous interest that goes into paying on the debt, everything is more expensive. I think the terms of the recession, of course you feel it when your president , and that is why i am trying to do something is, by stimulating exports, a better education system. The first town hall meeting, three candidates. Me turn to bob let me turn to bob and carol and with their reaction. I think president bush in that clip came very close to crossing the threshold that this particular voter, the questioner, was tried to get out, and that was the human connection. What was he feeling . And people made a lot of jokes about bill clinton being able to geneothers pain, at the that he has close to his heart. President bush was already by this point painted as somebody who was disconnected. You will recall the front page of the the New York Times and he did not know what a scanner was on a grocery store. Of course he did. President bush was simply a nice person on the campaign trail in new hampshire, trying to make conversation with a store clerk. That story took root, and is painted a version of him that was so unflattering to everyday people, made him look privileged and above the fray, above the pain, and that left a huge opening for bill clinton in 1992. And bob . Bill clinton had a better response, much more personal on the human level or spots. If i were bill clinton, i would invite you to the white house to see how these things on ouare. He was a nice person who did not get that somebody at the bottom of the economic pecking order, asking somebody at the top, if they can feel their own pain. By trying to figure out what the question was, instead of answering the question he wanted to answer, he failed in the primary mission of the debate, which is to make sure you get your point of view across, you get your talking points across, not simply dances somebodys question in the way that they asked it. I want to share with you and your students one moment from another debate. This took place in st. Louis in 2000, going back to what we were talking about earlier with al gore. Many thought he was too hot in the first debate, too cold in the second debate, but there begin this other iconic moment as somebody moves into your space. Lets watch. Would you agree that [indiscernbile] absolutely not. It is the bipartisan bill that is now pending in the congress. The Insurance Companies support the other bill that is pending, the one that the republican majority has put forward. They like it because it does not accomplish what needs to be accomplished, to get the decisions back to the doctors and nurses and give you a right of appeal to somebody other than the hmo, but you go to the emergency room before you call the hmo before you call 911, and it has strong bipartisan support. It is being blocked by republican leadership, and i would like to know whether governor bush will support the dingell bill pending proo . The difference is i can get it done. I can get something positive done on behalf of the people. That this was that is what this campaign is about. It is about getting things done. I believe i can. What about the dingell bill . We know that al gore and his campaign had prepared that moved, had rehearsed that moment. We also know the Bush Campaign saw it coming, that there had been in the debate prep and efforts to try to create that kind of physical advantage that al gore had, to have him next to bush, to try to visually bowling him. The instinctive reaction bush , contemptuous act, the right move. Is hard to remember was that this was an introduction for challenger like george bush. The question is, who is he . What is he like . How is he capable of handling himself under pressure . Debates are a highpressure campaign yvette, and what you saw with bush, but with reagan and a microphone, was a genuine reaction that resonated with ordinary americans, that connected with your public looking to see who this person is and what they would be like as president. So much of what a president has to deal with does not reveal itself before election day. If you think about how poor and george bush, there was no coverage to speak up of Foreign Policy, and yet the bush presidency in the eight years that followed, are entirely focused on Foreign Policy concerns because of 9 11 and iraq and afghanistan and all the things seeking to pass. We have a sense when we look at these debates of who these people might be, and in that moment no doubt about it, george bush looked very good, very president ial. We have a couple minutes left. I will turn to james at the washington center. The debate taking place tonight, your assessment of what you have seen so far and what you expect this evening. Yes, i believe the debate tonight, the style is the same as the first debate, and one of the questions i had that i was not able to ask is the style of debates, how they may change the way that the candidates can perform on the stage. I hope we do not see a replay of our first debate president obama and romney, but i see that, with a Foreign Policy, that they are much more prepared than they would be. Because of the moderator or because of the format, james . What do you not want to see a repeat of . In the format. The format is the same, but since they have been through it and since president obama will be prepared to night, unlike the first debate, it should be a good one. I am looking forward to seeing it. That me turn to Perdue University about what to expect tonight purdue university, about what to expect tonight. What formula the you think we can get to around a theatrics that we can see . Are you looking for tonight . I get frustrated when the one on one convicts are sensationalized. If the moderator takes more of an active role and make sure their presence is known, you see a lot more less of it. The candidate had prepared for this debate, all of the debates, they have their line set. Not rehearse, but impromptu. We have moved from the multiple moderators to the single moderator to facilitator the conversation and make it more about the candidates and less about the people who are asking the questions. Let me go to george mason, same question. What are you looking for tonight . I am looking forward to the debate, but i am interested to see how social media will affect the different outlooks of the debate. I thought that was interesting in the first and to the debates to see how that has been played out. I think they will be prepared after the first debate because no one wants obama unprepared as he was in the first one. Steve, we will conclude with you and one of your students. What are you expecting tonight . What i expect is romney to keep it going. I think he did a fantastic job in the first debate and that he did a fantastic job in the second debate. Obama needs to find a happy middle. The first debate he was not engaged enough, and the second, he was to engage. If they find a happy middle and it will be a great debate. Agree to conclude our a great way to conclude our debate. Thank you for being with us, and the students are partners in the washington classroom project. The washington center, george mason university, purdue thursday in indiana. Thank you for an interesting and insightful conversation. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] watch and engaged as obama and romney meet in their final debate. Start at 7 00 eastern with the life preview, followed by the debate at 9 00. Bob schieffer moderates from floridas Lynn University. You can follow along online at cspan. Org debates. During the debate, talked directly with other viewers and our online chat room at c span. Org chat. Tonight live, and cspan, c span3, and cspan. Org. Were asking you on facebook, at the debates cover issues important to you . All for your thoughts at facebook. Com csan. Cspan is asking students to send a message to the president as part of this years student cam video competition. What is the most important issue the president should consider in 2013 for a chance to win the grand prize of 5,000. Student cam video competition is open to grades 6 through 12. Conversation with cate edwards. She spoke last month at winterthur university about her experiences campaigning for her father in 2004 and 2008. Winthrop. Welcome, everybody, a conversation with cate edwards. I am assistant director of the west forum and the faculty member. First, please make sure your cell phones are off or on silent. Also, students are welcome to use computers or a pen and paper to take notes. If you use a computer, do not get distracted by all the other things that your computer is capable of doing and stick to notetaking. Todays discussion will include a question and answer period. You should have received a note card on your way. Right any questions you have and hand them to one of the students standing in the aisle. We will sort through your questions and read them for our speaker. I remind you about the rules of etiquette for your questions. Remember to stay on topic. As much as you may enjoy the icerds favorite flavor of cream, it is not a topic, and it will not be read. If you need in the card, raise your hand and someone will bring you one. To introduce an hour event, a conversation with cate edwards is a part of the Speaker Series by the john c. West forum on politics and policy related to the 2012 president ial election. It kicked off last year with five candidates speaking here at winthrop. The forum was founded in 2002 at the university of South Carolina by former governor john west. It came to winter in 2008. The west forum seeks to provoke engagement among young people across the state of South Carolina. Governor west is about what these values throughout his career. He served as the state senator and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina before his election to the governorship. Afterward, he served at the United States ambassador to saudi arabiya and became a professor of middle Eastern Studies at the university of South Carolina. He did much to promote the education engagement of young people across the state. I would like to recognize his daughter and son, as well as bill, who are here with the audience today. Thank you. Our speaker cate edwards also exemplifies the values of governor west. She has participated in two election campaigns for her father, john edwards treat she has experienced civil engagement in multiple ways, but and directorship of a foundation in her mothers honor, works to educate and empower lowincome youth to mr. Shipp, education, and service opportunities. In her spare time, she graduated from honors from princeton, earning a political economics degree. She earned a law degree from harvard in 2009. She clerked for federal judge and washed at a Washington Firm specializing in civil rights cases. She is now a partner in a law firm, specializes in civil rights and labor law cases. In 2011, she got married. It is her engagement in political and civic life that made her an excellent candidate for speaker for the west for more series. She will talk for her experience to campaign and Political Engagement assault as creating a foundation. We look forward to hearing about her experiences in civic and political life. Lets give a warm welcome to kate edwards. Cate edwards. [applause] good morning. Bear with me because i am still getting over a cold. I apologize. I want to say a thank you to katarina and winthrop. I am grateful for all of you here in the audience to share this conversation. I will be honest. I thought maybe too much about what it was i wanted to say. It was hard to think about what i might be able to add to the conversation you had been having over the last several months about the election cycle, politics, campaigning. I will be honest and say i am not completely certain about that, but i will give it a shot. In 2004, and 2008, i spent months traveling across the country visiting campuses like winthrop and talking and the snake to students about the election process and the issues that mattered the most. That me tell you nothing could have been more fulfilling for me. I will start by talking about that experience. You have heard of the bubble, which is the cocoon that surrounds candidates. In many ways the campaign trail is an odd and delusional place. I want to start with an example. In july of 2004, my dad had dropped out of the race and john kerry had clinched the nomination. I was 22, graduated from college a month before. Moved to new york, had an internship at a magazine, but like many recent graduates, i had no sense of what i wanted to do. I was still figuring things out. My second day in the city i woke up with a phone ringing at 7 38. My friend and drew said, congratulations. I had no idea what he was talking about. A few minutes later, i had another call from my roommate who was living in south korea, calling to offer me her congratulations. Again, and finally a third call came in and it was my dad. He said, he had just been chosen to run as senator john kerrys vicepresident ial running mate and to get on an airplane and go to washington. I told him that was old news and he was the third person to call at that point. The networks were already barking about it. That is when i knew my life and my familys life had changed p. In one other universe that koch does someone literally half way across the world tell you that your dad got a job before you know . I threw some clothes into a suitcase and headed to the airport. We embarked on an announcement tour, hitting key battleground states, holding a rally after rally. There is a lot about life that is getting used to come up but i picked one thing up quickly, which is how to smile and clapper the same time. And clap at the same time. At every stop there were massive crowds, cheering supporters, upbeat music, as my family exited and entered stages. From where i stood, it seemed impossible. That we would not win. Looking back, i realize how was this. One moment stood out, which was in october, 2004, at this point i had postpone my internship and was campaigning fulltime, so what i did was traveled colleges on my own, talking to small crowds, and your questions one on one, and sticking to the kerryedwards message. My main goal was to convince students like you to get out there and get to the polls in november, and if they happen to edwards, thatyrry was a bonus. Much more reminiscent of the big crowds, music, and big yards eyes. My mom had a lot of town Hall Meetings that i held, but they were much better attended and she gave a much better stump speech. I was with m ony mom into a dozn for, and i saw a young girl in the front row. She was holding a big sign that said cate is my hero. I want to tell you i was unbelievable that that little girl was making that side. I knew enough that a Campaign Worker had made that sign and made her hold it. She held it up and waved it with enthusiasm, and every time i looked her way she wanted to make sure i saw it. I had this slight moment when i said i maybe i am her hero. That was fleeting. It made me realize something important about campaigning. Not really about the cheering crowds, it is not really about the music, it is not really about shaking hands or doing interviews. Why not it seems like it would be at this point, right . In every single crowd, every single one, there is that little girl or someone like her who is looking on, learning, and taking part in this great process we call american democracy. If you are on stage, you can either be her hero, or you can be heard disappointment. Make no mistake, this makes a difference, because that girl could grow up knowing the issues you could paint on during that rally were the promises that changed her world. Or she can hear nothing but broken promises and turn away from politics. That signed is not just a Clever Campaign trip. Was an enormous responsibility. It is one that i carried Going Forward and not one that i take lightly. Not a responsibility that a real politician should take lightly. Looking back i think that responsibility, the responsibility of making honest promises to the people you are speaking to should be nothing less than the bedrock of our political process and elections. I want to talk about responsibility, because it is not just belong to politicians or their surrogates. It also belongs to every Single Person in this room. Take a step back. Step back because of what to define what i mean by responsibly. It means as individuals we frame our point of view and make decisions with other people in mind, not just ourselves. That is brought and vague, so as we know responsibilities can be a burden and a legend. Each of us have a variety of responsibilities academic, social, familial, professional, personal. Today i want to address our responsibility to our community, country, and world. Civic responsibility and social responsibility. Many of you know about the psychological and sociological problem known as a bystander in effect. It is that we as individuals feel a weakened sense of responsibility when were surrou