The League of Women Voters is withdrawing its sponsorship of the presidential debate scheduled for mid-October because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter.
“It has become clear to us that the candidates’ organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and honest answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.
“The campaigns’ agreement is a closed-door masterpiece. Never in the history of the League of Women Voters have two candidates’ organizations come to us with such stringent, unyielding and self-serving demands.
“On the threshold of a new millenium, this country remains the brightest hope for all who cherish free speech and open debate. Americans deserve to see and hear the men who would be president face each other in a debate on the hard and complex issues critical to our progress into the next century.
"— League of Women Voters President Nancy M. Neuman denounces the Bush and Dukakis campaigns’ secret negotiations on October 3, 1988, and withdraws League sponsorship of presidential debates.
