<br> The LWV codified the formats of presidential debates, splitting them into classes based on how questions are asked. When Jimmy Carter refused to debate with both Republican nominee Ronald Reagan and independent candidate John Anderson in 1980, the LWV held the controversy without Carter. Within the 2004 debates between Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush, the television networks ignored the memorandum of understanding and filmed response shots. Bush and Michael Dukakis met with out the information of the League of Women Voters (LWV) and drafted a memorandum of understanding. Despite the Democrats and Republicans drafting memorandums of understanding and deciding who can participate, it's the CPD that publicly issues the selections, so it's the CPD that accepts the public's ire. To fill the void left by the LWV, the Democrats and Republicans formed the joint nonprofit bipartisan group The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). The group was additionally the keeper of the format, the questions and the debate on the whole. Since 2000, the group has retained Dr. Frank Newport, of Gallup Poll to select the five public opinion polls used in figuring out which candidates are invited to debate. It served as host, and the candidates were invited to participate or not
