You want to take this outside?
Here’s my idea: Give each candidate a list of questions, and a certain number of tokens representing half of the available airtime for the debate. Each token activates the mike for precisely two minutes. When the time is up, the mike goes off. Then it’s the other guy’s turn.
This goes on, question by question, until the debate comes to an end. A particularly windy candidate can keep on talking past his two minutes, but nobody can hear him. Because the other guy has inserted a token and it’s his turn to talk.
It pretty clear by now that moderators don’t work, particularly in a pseudo “town hall” format where the candidates can wander the stage like ferrets, talking over each other and the hapless moderator while spraying rehearsed bullet points in answer to questions that have not been asked.
I hate it when the commentariat declares instant winners and losers for these things, since I don’t believe there’s reliable scoring system for anything other than style. Now that objective truth is no longer a factor, I guess it comes down to who makes the fewest verbal gaffes. I’ll let Twitter decide. In the meantime, I know who I’m voting for, and I suspect you do too. Those people in the town hall seats though: who in the hell are those folks?
There will be blood
Who’s got a lighter?
Street-fighting man
When smart people get stupid
Pick your poison
Dave, I would love to see your idea in action!
Hey, Dave,
Good suggestion because I’m appalled at how rude Romney was tonight in talking over the moderator and the President. It seems that the circus environment is upgraded, anyway, with every national debate.
I, too, want to know who the hell those people are who fill the seats. How were they selected? I was impressed with many of the questions tonight, though, by the chosen “Undecideds” in the audience. They must’ve practiced.
I wish that President Obama would’ve have talked more about the potential heavy environmental damage that the Keystone Pipeline could cause while creating a minimal number of jobs.
Romney and his ilk wrote the book on bullying, disrespect, fact-twisting and obstructing our President Barack Obama on every turn instead of negotiating to create the best legislation possible. They make me sick.
I’m debate-tired and rant-weary, so that’s all for now. Thanks for writing your blog.
Yes, the questions weren’t bad. I’m glad somebody finally asked Romney how he’d be different from Bush.
That summed things up very nicely.