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A debate has one purpose, one purpose only, and that is to facilitate the exchange of ideas directly between two candidates, and that's it.

Jim Lehrer

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Jim Lehrer
Age: 85 †
Born: 1934
Born: May 19
Died: 2020
Died: January 23
Journalist
Military Officer
News Presenter
Novelist
Television Presenter
Writer
Wichita
Kansas
James C. Lehrer
James Lehrer
James Charles Lehrer
Directly
Debate
Purpose
Two
Ideas
Facilitate
Exchange
Candidates

More quotes by Jim Lehrer

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My Marine experience helped shape who I am now personally and professionally, and I am grateful for that on an almost daily basis.
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I'm in the civil discourse business. I think it takes all kinds. And more power to everybody.
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I always wear blue shirts and I like wine or purple ties.
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Most of the stories I have covered in 45 years have been gray stories.
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As I say, I'm a discourse advocate. What form it comes is less important to me than the fact that there is discourse.
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People can say anything they want to. If they don't want to get the news from me, get it from somebody else. It's not something I'm going to worry about, I'm sorry.
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There's only one interview technique that matters... Do your homework so you can listen to the answers and react to them and ask follow-ups. Do your homework, prepare.
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The death rate among Marines in Iraq has been more than double that of the other services.
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I'm a journalist and that's what I do.
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If people want bells and whistles and all of that, there are bells and whistles available. If they don't want bells and whistles there are places to go where they are not available.
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Make no mistake: When I told Senator Mitchell that I injected Roger Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, I told the truth.
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If McNamee is lying, then he has acted inexcusably, and he has made Clemens an innocent victim. If Clemens isn't telling the truth, then he has acted shamefully and has smeared McNamee. I don't think there's anything in between.
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If we don't have an informed electorate we don't have a democracy. So I don't care how people get the information, as long as they get it. I'm just doing it my particular way and I feel lucky I can do it the way I want to do it.
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Best I can do for them is to give them every piece of information I can find and let them make the judgments. That's just my basic view of my function as a journalist.
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Let me be clear: Despite Roger Clemens' statements to the contrary, I never injected Roger Clemens, or anyone else, with lidocaine or B-12.
Jim Lehrer
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The shouting and opinion and jokes don't exist if there isn't first a story.
Jim Lehrer
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People can get their news any way they want. What I love about what's happened is that there are so many different avenues, there are so many different outlets, so many different ways to debate and discuss and to inquire about any given news story.
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I'm not in the being-annoyed business.
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In my case, I was covering politics in Texas as a newspaper man in the 1960's.
Jim Lehrer
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No two people see things the same way.
Jim Lehrer