The Nation - News from Sept. 20, 1988

Aides to Democrat Michael S. Dukakis proposed that the news anchormen of four commercial television networks serve as the questioners in upcoming presidential debates, but sources said the idea was rejected by George Bush’s advisers. Aides to the Republican presidential nominee responded with a list of proposed moderators and questioners from both print and electronic media. The first debate, sponsored by the parties’ commission on debates, is scheduled Sunday at Wake Forest University. The late round in the pre-debate sniping came as Dukakis campaign chairman Paul P. Brountas called James A. Baker III, his counterpart in the Bush camp.