 In November 2007 it was announced that Washington University in St. Louis would be the venue for the debate, making the university the only institution, as of 2008, to have hosted three or more presidential debates.The first 90-minute presidential debate was divided into nine 3-minute issue segments, allowing the candidates to discuss selected topics, answer follow-ups from a moderator and directly address each other.The vice-presidential debate format followed that of the first presidential debate, but included questions on all topics and had shorter response and discussion periods.