A centerpiece of Web White & Blue 2000 was the first-ever online presidential debate which ran from October 1 through November 8, 2000 and was carried simultaneously on the 17 sites on the Web White & Blue Network. The presidential campaigns of George W. Bush, Al Gore, Pat Buchanan, Harry Browne, Howard Phillips, and John Hagelin participated in this historic Internet event. The debate exchanges contained two parts: a Message of the Day from the campaign and a response to a Question of the Day submitted by an Internet user. Responses could take any form (video, audio, text, or links to a candidate’s web site) and were not limited in length. Each campaign was permitted to rebut its opponent’s Message of the Day and respond to the Question of the Day.
This evaluation analyzes the ways in which the Web White and Blue Network affected the contributing charter sites or citizens at large. It revealed which aspects of Web White and Blue boosted user confidence in the quality of political information online, raised user interest in the election campaigns, and spurred political learning.
