Democratic Candidates Will Return to K-School

The Kennedy School of Government will step up coverage of the Presidential campaign within the next few months, including a second Forum debate with the eight Democratic hopefuls as well as individual appearances.

The Institutes of Politics (IOP), in collaboration with The Boston Globe, is planning to bring the candidates to the K-School sometime before the March 6 New Hampshire primary.

Only four months ago, the Democratic candidates converged on Cambridge for the first Forum debate, which was televised live locally.

Try, Try Again

"After an event like that, we saw how successful it was, and we saw its limitations and wanted to try again," Charles Truehart, director of the IOP Forum, explained yesterday. "It's the role of the IOP to bring in people like this and build a bridge between the public and the expertise available at Harvard."

John Moore, director of the IOP and Globe editor Thomas Winship have been personally contacting the candidates. "A vast majority have already confirmed that they're coming," Truehart said. The tentative issue for debate is American foreign policy.

Winship apparently suggested the collaborative effort shortly after the last debate. "I thought it would be a good idea," he said yesterday. "The more debates the better it's not a question of Harvard cornering the market on these sorts of things. It's just much easier to organize an event when two organizations work together."

"Imagine the logistical problems of getting eight people to be in one place in the same hour. I don't think it's all been firmed up yet and that's why it hasn't been announced." David Irons K-School director of external affairs, said yesterday.

The Globe has never sponsored a debate with the IOP before, but "we have worked with them closely on a lot of things in the past," Winship said. "We've hosted a couple of dinners for visiting mayors."

'Campaign '84' Series

Plans for the debate have not been finalized, but each of the candidates has already agreed to return individually in a "Campaign '84" series Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D S C) will make an appearance on January 26, and the Rev. Jesse I. Jackson will speak on February 3.

At the Campaign '84 series, each of the candidates will speak on his conception of the Presidency. A subsidiary topic will be the three most significant issues each candidate feels will confront the next President. The IOP sponsored a similar series for the 1980 Presidential election.

Talk Show

Each candidate will meet with personally selected Harvard faculty members after his speech. The IOP has also arranged to have selected journalists and political analysts talk with the candidates on a half-hour television news show. "We've been consulting closely with WGBH, and hope to have the program said.

"The program is deliberately planned not to be about issues in the campaign or who is leading the horse race. We want to be able to give people an idea of what each candidate's qualifications and accomplishments are."

The IOP has not yet established its ticket policy for the events, but plans an open forum for Hollings' visit this Thursday. Tickets for the Jackson visit will probably be given out on a lottery basis, Truehart said.