Playing host to a presidential debate would be a great way to celebrate Lawrence’s birthday.

Staging a presidential debate would be a fitting tribute to the 150th anniversary of Lawrence’s founding.

People looking into attracting such a debate in 2004 estimate it will cost the city about $500,000. That isn’t exactly pocket change, but it doesn’t seem an insurmountable goal, if corporate donors and other sources are tapped.

Lawrence has an inside track on this process in the person of Diana Carlin, dean of the Gradate School and International Programs at Kansas University. Carlin is a nationally recognized debate expert and had been involved with the planning of the presidential debates and the Debate Watch program for a number of years. Carlin’s involvement won’t guarantee a debate in Lawrence, but she certainly will be able to help local planners negotiate the process of presenting a strong application to become a debate site.

Applications, which must include complete site plans and financial pledges, are due in July 2003. The Commission on Presidential Debates will announce its site selections in December 2003. The Lied Center of Kansas is being considered as a debate site, and other KU locations probably would be used for related purposes. The involvement of the nearby Dole Institute of Politics also might be a selling point for a Lawrence debate.

A presidential debate would have a tremendous economic benefit for Lawrence and offer many opportunities to involve the public, including area school children. In addition to candidates and their entourages, it would be expected to draw 1,400 members of the media to Lawrence. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Carlin has said.

Showcasing the American political process and encouraging more people to be involved in that process seems a suitable way to commemorate the founding of Lawrence in 1854. The war of words that would be waged in a presidential debate is different from the physical battles of the free-state and slave debate, but both are tributes to the strong democratic system that tolerates such dissent and debate.

It’s important that members of the sesquicentennial committee don’t envision the debate as the only major event of the celebration and have pledged that fund-raising for the debate would be separate from that for other sesquicentennial projects.

The community also should consider a lasting physical tribute to pay homage to our 150th birthday. Centennial Park certainly was a wonderful 100th birthday gift to Lawrence and a similar tribute would be a great legacy. But memories also have a lasting impact on a community and hosting a presidential debate would be a historic milestone that would be remembered for generations to come.