(Thursday, September 23, 1976, 9:30-11:00 p.m. EST; during the United States presidential election, 1976) — President Gerald R. Ford and former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter met tonight in a generally genteel debate in which Ford sought to portray his Democratic rival as a fuzzy-thinking spendthrift and Carter accused Ford of economic mismanagement and weak leadership.

It was the first time the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees debated each other on television and radio since the John Kennedy-Richard Nixon debates of 1960, some 16 years ago.

It was also first ever debate in which an incumbent President had participated.

The debate was also notable for an audio failure at 10:51 p.m. which caused a 27-minute delay in the debate until 11:18 p.m.