Subject: Debate Special

By Rick Stengel, Editor TIME.com

The debate's the thing. From Gerald Ford, prematurely liberating Poland in 1976, to George Bush, testily checking his watch in 1992, debates between presidential candidates have often proved to be a tipping point in ever-so-tight races like the one we're following right now.

That's why on Tuesday, Oct. 3, the night of the first Bush-Gore showdown, in Boston, TIME will produce a special debate issue on time.com We'll have a fight card scoring the competitors, answer by answer. You'll see fresh-baked commentary from TIME's political writers, a reality check on what the candidates say about the issues, an on-line poll, voter reactions in the battleground states, our spiffy online voter game, the Candidator, and a photo album of great presidential-debate moments that will finally reveal who yanked the audio during the second Ford-Carter debate, bringing the whole darn thing to a standstill for 27 minutes.

Well, perhaps I've overpromised on that, but do log on to time.com for up-to-the-minute debate coverage. It is political reporting with an edge. No debate about that.