Tonight at 9pm is the first Presidential Debate. This Presidential Super Bowl is expected to top the previous debate audience record of 80.6 million TV viewers set in 1980 for the debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. Fifty-six years ago today, Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debate.
No matter who you support, you can “win” tonight’s debate merely by watching it and learning from it- particularly students on our C|M|Law Moot Court Team or those thinking about final exams later this year. As David Axelrod, former top advisor to President Obama, noted in yesterday’s New York Times, “in the end, presidential debates are less a trial of fact than a televised final exam for the most exacting job on the planet.” I’ve had the opportunity to participate as a candidate in more than 20 televised debates, and if I’ve learned one thing, it is this:speak with passion about what’s at stake.
So what’s at stake in this election? The next President will wield an enormous power to affect our lives in many ways, but none more impactful than the appointments the 45th President will make to the U.S. Supreme Court. In recent years, the Court has issued closely divided 5-4 rulings that have had enormous effects on our daily lives in a number of areas, including equal marriage rights for LGBT couples, the validity of the Affordable Care Act, reproductive rights, workers’ rights, campaign finance, civil rights, and many more.
In the short term, the President will nominate a Justice to fill the late Justice Scalia’s vacancy, but the President is very likely to fill several other future vacancies. Since 1960, the average age for leaving the bench is 78. Today, three of the Justices are 78 years old or older - Justices Ginsburg (83), Kennedy (80), and Breyer(78). The new justices will set the direction of the Supreme Court for the next generation. Justice Scalia was on the court for 30 years before he died. Justice Thomas has been on the court for 25 years and is only 68.
At C|M|Law , we understand the significance of this election. Recently, we hosted our annual CMLaw Constitution Day Lecture: The Roberts Court.
On Saturday, October 1, 9am-12pm, the The C|M|Law Alumni Association will host a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) forum, Swing State : Why Ohio Matters in National Elections. The C|M|Law Alumni Association Reunion Luncheon immediately follows the forum.
On October 18, 5pm we will host another CLE, The Year Without a Justice: The Scalia Vacancy and the Future of the Supreme Court.
So as you watch tonight’s debate, keep in mind what’s at stake.
Lee
Lee Fisher
Interim Dean and Visiting Professor of Law
Cleveland State University
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
216-687-2300