George W. Bush and Al Gore have finally agreed on the dates and format for an upcoming series of presidential debates, but many in the addiction field feel the discourse will be tainted by the fact that the nation's largest alcoholic-beverage producer is helping to underwriting the events.Anheuser-Busch (A-B) is providing about half a million dollars to put on the debate hosted at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as providing general support to the non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). The bipartisan Commission, established in 1987, is responsible for organizing the debates. "Like any 501(c)3 organization, we rely on contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations to produce the debates every four years," John Scardino, the CPD's media director, tells Join Together.
Along with U.S. Airways, The Century Foundation, The Marjorie Kovler Fund and 3Com, Anheuser-Busch is one of the major funders of the 2000 debates. The beermaker also sponsored the 1996 debates between President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole.
In return for its sponsorship, Anheuser-Busch will be highlighted on the CPD's web site and in the official printed program for the debates, as well as garnering bragging rights in the media. "It's a pleasure and honor for Anheuser-Busch to be part of this historic event in St. Louis," said Stephen K. Lambright, group vice president and general counsel for the beermaker, in a press release announcing the Washington University debate.
Jeffrey Hon, a spokesperson for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, says A-B's sponsorship of the debates gives the company "the patina of corporate responsibility through this apparently magnanimous act of public service."
"This gives the presidential imprimatur to drinking beer," says Hon. "Is that the message the candidates want to send?"
Recently, a group protesting the exclusion of third-party candidates from the debates circulated a poster in the Washington, D.C., area showing two Budweiser frogs sitting on lecterns and croaking, "Whassup?" to each other. Scardino, however, says that no Bud logos will appear in the hall where the debate will take place, nor will any beer commercials interrupt the debates themselves. "If Anheuser Busch wants to buy (broadcast advertising) spots before or after the debates, that's up to them," he added. Company officials will have little or no chance to meet with the candidates in conjunction with the debates, says Scardino.
Critics of the CPD often begin by questioning the wisdom of any corporate involvement in the debates. But the Commission's choice of funders and even staff has particularly irked the prevention and treatment community. In addition to Anheuser-Busch, past sponsors of the debates have included tobacco giant Philip Morris (1992 and 1996) -- a relationship that seems almost inconceivable in the current political environment. (Philip Morris also owns the Miller Brewing Co.). And the co-chair of the CPD, Frank Fahrenkopf, is the head of the American Gaming Association, a trade group for the casino gambling industry.
"You especially must question why a company (Anheuser-Busch) whose product kills more young people in this country than any other alcoholic beverage is sponsoring the debates and becoming a central element of the political process," says industry critic George Hacker, head of the alcohol policy project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's telling about the amount of political influence that Anheuser-Busch and others in the industry wield in Congress and in the executive branch."
In addition to concerns about imagery, opponents of corporate involvement wonder whether the beer company's role will curtail the scope of the debate. A venerable critic of the alcohol and gambling industry, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, is encouraging members to contact the CDP through the Commission's web site and suggest debate questions for the candidates.
The first of the three debates agreed to by the candidates will be held on Oct. 3 at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. The second presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. (the heart of tobacco country), and the final verbal joust is slated for Oct. 17 at Washington University. A vice-presidential debate will be held Oct. 5 at Centre College in Danville, Ky.
The first presidential debate will be in the traditional moderated format with the candidates standing at podiums; the second will feature the candidates sitting with a moderator. The Washington University debate, however, will be in a town meeting format -- perhaps the best opportunity for the public to weigh in with questions.
PBS' Jim Lehrer will moderate the presidential debates; CNN's Bernard Shaw will moderate the vice-presidential debate. Each debate will be 90 minute long and be broadcast by all the major TV networks, cable outlets and public television stations.
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