Second Presidential Candidates Debate McCain Obama LIVE STREAMING VIDEO TEXT TRANSCRIPT PODCAST

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT - Official transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates, PODCAST Streaming MP3 and PODCAST Download MP3 Second Presidential Debate From Nashville, Tennessee (October 7, 2008) FULL STREAMING VIDEO from CSPAN

October 7, 2008 09:00 PM EDT. Running Time 1:30 LIVE Presidential Candidates Debate at Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee CNN - Windows Media. and C-SPAN - Windows Media. - FULL STREAMING VIDEO LIVE Commission on Presidential Debates, John S. McCain III, R, Arizona, Barack Obama (D-IL), moderated by Tom Brokaw, NBC.

2008 TOWN HALL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE TALKING POINTS.

• On November 19, 2007, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that Belmont University will host the Town Hall Presidential Debate on October 7, 2008.

• Belmont was one of 16 sites nationwide under consideration to host one of three presidential, or one vice presidential, debates.

• Tennessee has been home to three former United States Presidents – Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson and James K. Polk – but this will be the first time a presidential debate has been held in Tennessee.

• The Presidential Debate at Belmont will be held in the Curb Event Center, home of the NCAA Division-I Belmont Bruins basketball and volleyball teams and host site of the live CMT Music Awards show three years in a row.

• The debate is expected to attract more than 2,500 members of the media to Nashville, along with the candidates’ campaigns and supporters, and will be viewed by millions worldwide.

• Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, Congressman Jim Cooper, Ralph Schulz, CEO of Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Butch Spyridon, President Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau all wrote letters in support of Belmont and bringing one of the debates to Tennessee.

• Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and historian, New York Times bestselling author and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough will appear on campus as special guests during the 2008-09 academic year.

• Burns will speak on Sept. 30, 2008, and McCullough will follow up in the spring semester on March 19, 2009.

• Belmont launched a new Web site specifically for the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate, located at www.belmontdebate08.com.

• The site features news, programming information and campus updates for the Belmont community, neighbors and more than 2,500 media expected on campus for the debate.

• A task force of faculty and staff from Belmont, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State University, Volunteer State Community College and Nashville state Technical Community College has formed to create several opportunities for city-wide learning centered on Belmont’s role as Town Hall Presidential Debate host site.

• The Key Issues Speaker Series will bring an array of experts to campus to discuss issues of importance to voters in this election year: energy, the environment, entrepreneurship, health care, media and religion. Check www.belmontdebate08.com for these programs.

• The Office of Spiritual Development has put together a comprehensive schedule of events that focus on spirituality’s place in the world of American politics.

• The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) has prepared a lineup of art exhibits, plays and concerts that center on the American experience and the freedom of expression enjoyed by American citizens.

• Belmont is planning several opportunities for students to actively participate in the democratic process, such as voter registration drives, viewing parties for the series of presidential and vice presidential debates and a post-debate mock election on campus.

• In May Belmont announced the formation of the Honorary Host Committee for the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate composed of distinguished individuals with national, state and local stature.

• Marty Dickens, chairman of the Belmont Board of Trustees and retired president of AT&T serves as chair of the honorary host committee and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and president of Curb Records Mike Curb are the committee’s honorary chairs.

• Members of the committee include former and current Tennessee and United States Senators and Congressmen, business leaders, music industry executives, recording artists and philanthropists.

• The Honorary Host Committee reflects Belmont’s commitment to ensuring the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate is memorable for Belmont students, as well as residents of Nashville and the state of Tennessee.

• The only media allowed in the Debate Hall itself on October 7 will be members of the five networks that are part of the White House media pool and C-SPAN.

• Tom Brokaw, current host of "Meet the Press" and a special correspondent for NBC News, will moderate the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate. The Gallup Organization will choose the audience participants in the town hall meeting from undecided voters from the Nashville, Tenn., standard metropolitan statistical area. While the participants will pose the questions, Brokaw will facilitate the discussion between the audience and the candidates.

• For the first time in the history of general election debates, the moderator can choose to use questions submitted via the Internet.