Confirming reports that were circulating, US Sen. Chuck Schumer has issued a press release announcing that Hofstra will host one of the 2008 presidential debates right here on LI. The date will be Oct. 15 -- and, naturally, Sen. Never-shy Schumer wants everyone to know that he deserves credit for making it happen:
"Schumer has led the fight to bring a presidential debate to Hofstra."
Also, he gives props to the university: “This is great news for Long Island and for Hofstra. It shows the importance of the suburban middle class vote and further strengthens Hofstra as a national and international center of excellence.”
It's the third, and last, presidential debate, by the way. Full text of the release after the jump.
SCHUMER CONGRATULATES HOFSTRA ON BEING SELECTED TO HOST 2008 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Schumer Actively Lobbied Heads of Commission on Presidential Debates to Bring the Event to the NYC Area
October 15th Debate Will be the First Held in New York Since 1960
Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that Hoftra University on Long Island will host one of the 2008 general election Presidential Debates. Schumer has led the fight to bring a presidential debate to Hofstra. In April, Schumer personally wrote to the heads of the Democratic and Republican National Committees and the chairs of the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates asking that they select Hofstra to host a debate, and has been in regular contact with the commission.
“This is great news for Long Island and for Hofstra. It shows the importance of the suburban middle class vote and further strengthens Hofstra as a national and international center of excellence,” Schumer said.
Schumer said that New York has not hosted a debate since 1960 when John F. Kennedy and then Vice-President Richard M. Nixon met in a Manhattan television studio. With two New Yorkers, a Democrat and a Republican, running for President in 2008, Schumer said that one of the debates take place in New York, at an institution with a strong educational environment and a prominent track record on presidential studies.
With a rich history in presidential studies, Hofstra, located in Hempstead, New York, is an ideal venue for one of the debates. Hofstra has held 11 highly successful presidential conferences, including the most recent of which in November of 2005 on Bill Clinton’s presidency, at which the former president delivered a keynote address. Just last year, Hofstra launched the much-lauded Center for Presidential Studies.
The debate will be held on October 15, 2008 in Hempstead.
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NY Times - One LI Project
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/nyregion/15towns.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin