Democrats Cancel CBS Debate Because of WGA Strike

The Democratic National Committee on Nov. 28 cancelled the CBS News-sponsored Dec. 10 debate after candidates said they wouldn't cross cross the picket line.

The debate will not be rescheduled. Several candidates, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, had already said that they wouldn't attend if the writers actively picketed the Los Angeles venue.

"The possibility of picket lines set up by the Writers Guild of America and the unwillingness of many candidates to cross them made it necessary to allow the candidates to make other plans," CBS News said in a statement released Wednesday.

In a joint statement Wednesday, WGA East and WGA West expressed "regret" about the cancellation.

"This was triggered by CBS' fear that the Democratic candidates would not cross a picket line by WGA-CBS News writers or WGA Film and TV writers to participate in the debate – a concern that could have been avoided entirely if CBS would simply sit down and negotiate a fair contract for its news and entertainment employees," the statement said. "Instead, CBS chose to make a decision that stifles the democratic process.

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