As the United States comes closer to the 2012 presidential election, President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are kicking off their debates. The presidential debate schedule includes three nights worth of President Obama and Romney discussing their stance on various issues and one night of debates between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan.
The debates kick off on Wednesday, October 3 and end on Monday Oct. 22. Each debate will take place at different locations across the country and will be moderated by different people. Most tickets to the debates were distributed to college students.
To catch the debates on live television, check out C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, or cable news channels CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
The President and Romney will debate three times. Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan will also have a debate. For the first time in 20 years, a woman will moderate one of the debates.
Here is the 2012 Presidential debate schedule:
Wednesday, October 3
Time: 9 - 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Place: University of Denver in Denver, Colorado
Moderator: Jim Leher, host of PBS's NewsHour
During Wednesday's debate, Romney and President Obama will discuss domestic policy. The debate is broken up into six 15 minute segments. The first three segments will focus on economy. The last three segments will include healthcare, the government's role, and governing.
Leher will start off each segment with a question. Each candidate will have two minutes to answer the questions asked.
Thursday, October 11
Time: 9 - 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Place: Centre College in Danville, Kentucky
Moderator: Martha Raddatz, senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News
This debate will take place between Vice President Joe Biden and Wis. Rep. Paul Ryan. It will focus on both foreign and domestic topics which will be discussed within nine 10 minute segments. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to questions asked by Raddatz.
Tuesday, October 16
Time: 9 - 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Place: Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York
Moderator: Candy Crowley, Chief Political Correspondent for CNN
President Obama and Romney will be back to discuss foreign and domestic issues. This debate is formatted as a town meeting and citizens, who are undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization, will be able to ask the questions. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond and Crowley will have a minute to facilitate the debate.
Monday, October 22
Time: 9 - 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Place: Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida
Moderator: Bob Schieffer, Host of Face the Nation on CBS
In the third and final presidential debate, President Obama and Romney will discuss foreign policy in a style similar to the first debate on Oct. 3.
