Hillary says yes, and Jerry Brown is right again

by John Q. Murray

As Jerry Brown, our former journalism dean, likes to say: “Journalism is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”

He is absolutely right. We here at the Chronicle have the greatest job in the world, and this week it got even better. Consider Monday. After our staff meeting in Alberton (learning more about the Mineral County Healthy Communities project from Denyse Traeder), and after dashing back to a Missoula press conference (where Clark Conrow and Tim Read were sitting down at the table with Mark Rey), Sally Mauk from Montana Public Radio leaned over and told me she just saw the press release from the Clinton campaign.

I beg your pardon? I was about to ask more when Mark Rey started introducing everyone and we both had to get to work. When I finally returned to the office three hours later, my lovely wife greeted me by saying, “Hillary’s people called and left a message for you.”

The Democratic presidential candidate accepted our invitation to come to Missoula for a presidential debate. Kate Downen of the Clinton Montana office sent out the press release and the message light on the phone has been blinking furiously ever since.

Back in February, the Chronicle proposed that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama meet in Montana before the June 3 primary. We invited them to meet in a format based on the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates.

No moderators wasting our time with inane trivia. No time limits forcing the candidates into prepackaged sound bites. Just a couple of intelligent policy wonks talking directly to the voters—and to one another—with the chance to pose their own pointed questions.

Back in 1858, Lincoln got up and spoke for an hour, Douglas spoke for 90 minutes, and then Lincoln returned for a half-hour. In the next city, it was the Little Giant’s chance to go first. Unlike our forebears, we modern Americans probably can’t sit still that long, so the Chronicle proposed 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 15 minutes.

After the last debate, the prospect of a debate without moderators is an idea whose time has come.

Did I mention that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates? We here at the Chronicle could give every journalist in America the chance to misspell “sesquicentennial.”

I was surprised that Sen. Clinton was the first to accept, because the open-ended format probably offers a slight advantage to Sen. Obama. The uninterrupted speaking time gives him a chance to get on a roll and get the crowd behind him.

But it also gives Sen. Clinton a chance to challenge him face-to-face, in front of a live crowd, and could make for some great political theater.

On the other hand, he has been at his most inspiring and eloquent when he has been challenged and forced to articulate his approach to our most pressing policy questions.

On the other, other hand, so has she.

Both candidates have strong support in Montana and will likely pack the house with partisans to cheer on their favorites.

They might even choose to address issues of concern in the West: Rural education. Rural health care. The rural economy. Energy development, the environment, and public land management .

Shaun Donovan suggested that we hold the event in front of the Superior courthouse, with the crowd holding torches for illumination and everyone in period costume. Shelly Clark up in Eureka thought Shaun's idea was pretty funny (and said to say hello to everyone in Superior). Kim Lyons the surrealist poet, who will be here for a reading in late May, said to schedule Clinton-Obama while she is in town.

Sharon Patterson wanted to make sure all the Mineral County 4-H kids get front-row seats.

Rep. Gordon Hendrick wanted to make sure his high-school students got an up-close and personal look at the candidates.

Marlys Schwaderer had the great idea of asking for cans of food along with the price of admission, and turning the Lincoln-Douglas 2008 into a fundraising event for the Mineral County Food Bank.

Heck, while we're at it, why not extend that idea to all of our other worthy local organizations: Mineral County Search and Rescue, Women in Timber, the Mineral Community Hospital Foundation, our local volunteer fire departments...the list goes on and on.

Montana's senior political writer, Chuck Johnson, called from Helena to write a story and his series of questions quickly brought me back to reality: What did the University of Montana say about using the Adams Center, what dates are available, and how much does it cost to rent that place, anyway?

Uh...let me get back to you on that, Chuck.

Sheesh. Back when I was happily typing out my column at midnight just before the deadline, I never thought I'd actually have to figure out how to organize this dang thing.

Fortunately, there are an incredible number of smart and talented people here in western Montana. I got in touch with one of our talented organizers from Frenchtown and asked for help—and within a few hours I had a spreadsheet with proposed seating arrangements, a complete breakdown of all the costs, and break-even ticket prices.

In addition to helping local organizations, we quickly realized this could also give our local talent a chance to shine. Perhaps Montana PBS could put together an introduction about the original Lincoln-Douglas debates, featuring Montana historians and professors.

We have a lot of ideas, but we're going to hold back a few as surprises for the event.

If you have any suggestions or expertise to help with the project, please give a call.
Lincoln-Douglas 2008 may be an idea whose time has come, but it also will take a lot of smart folks from Chronicle Country--and just a little more good luck--to pull it off.
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