American taxpayers. My 2 cents.

In 1988, the Commission on Presidential Debates came into existence in it’s present form led by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. and former Republican National Committee Chairman Frank H. Fahrenkopf Jr. They hired one full-time employee, a Republican former Senate staffer named Janet Brown who serves as Executive Director. The three have led the Commission since its inception, with a board of directors made up primarily of committed partisans from the two major parties. The Commission sponsors and produces the debates, picks the locations, sets the rules, selects the moderators, and determines which candidates participate. Brown’s annual salary ($175,000 as of 2004 and 2005, paid even in non-election years) the organization’s operating expenses and debate production costs are paid by a small number of major donors. In 2004, the Commission took in over $4.1 million, more than 93 percent of which came from just six contributors. On the donor list provided to the Center for Public Integrity, the Commission blanked out the names of all six. Nonprofit organizations are not legally required to make this information public. "The CPD has come under attack from democracy advocates, third parties and independent candidates for the presidency. They claim the CPD is little more than a front for the two dominant parties that allows them to maintain control over debate participants, formats, and moderators. This absolute control over the form also gives them indirect control over the range of issues that may be discussed, excluding many of the most critical issues on which there is either bi-partisan agreement or disinterest in discussion. All the while, the dominant parties maintain plausible deniability for the anti-democratic practices via the CPD." - SourceWatch 2008 National Sponsors Anheuser-Busch Companies BBH New York The Howard G. Buffet Foundation Sheldon S. Cohen, Esq. EDS, an HP Company International Bottled Water Association The Kovler Fund YWCA USA * Communications Support provided by The Kaiser Family Foundation Below are the people who decide which candidates are invited to the debates: 2008 Commission Leadership Co-Chairmen Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. Paul G. Kirk, Jr. Honorary Co-Chairmen Gerald R. Ford† Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan† William J. Clinton Board of Directors Howard Buffett John C. Danforth Antonia Hernandez Caroline Kennedy Michael D. McCurry Newton N. Minow Dorothy Ridings Alan K. Simpson H. Patrick Swygert Executive Director Janet H. Brown †Deceased Source: Commission on Presidential Debates This is a very interesting group, with a very, very interesting history: The Buying of the President 2008 http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/stories/two_party_debates/ Commission On Presidential Debates: The Illusion Of Legitimacy http://www.commondreams.org/views/100100-103.htm The League of Women Voters Refuses to Perpetrate a Fraud, Withdraws Support From the CPD http://www.lwv.org/AM/PrinterTemplate.cfm?Section=Press_Releases&CONTENTID=7777&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm Sourcewatch: The Commission on Presidential Debates: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Commission_on_Presidential_Debates Commission on Presidential Debates, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Presidential_Debates Commission on Presidential Debates Website: http://www.debates.org/