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If you were the "Presidential Debate Czar"...

radcen

radcen

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If you were the "Presidential Debate Czar", how would your debates differ from current and recent debates?
 
I think the moderator would / could / should go out on stage with orders to 'keep them on question' and not let them stray far from it.

With as many candidates as the GOP will have on stage, there's not any time to spare for long winded responses.
 
The party debates are just a side show.

There will be 2 or 3 national debates between the final two candidates for office.

Jim Lehrer usually presides at one of them.

Schieffer did a fairly good job last time.

Crowley overstepped her bounds however. I don't think she will be invited back.
 
eohrnberger said:
I think the moderator would / could / should go out on stage with orders to 'keep them on question' and not let them stray far from it.

With as many candidates as the GOP will have on stage, there's not any time to spare for long winded responses.
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In a debate, it is the role of the opponent to re-direct when the opponent is nonresponsive to the question, or at least point out that the opponent was nonresponsive to the question.

The moderator cannot become a participant as well.
 
Riveroaks said:
In a debate, it is the role of the opponent to re-direct when the opponent is nonresponsive to the question, or at least point out that the opponent was nonresponsive to the question.

The moderator cannot become a participant as well.
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Participant, no, but a manager of the time and the response, I'd say yes.
But I have to admit that I've not been part of a debate team to know the rules.
 
eohrnberger said:
I think the moderator would / could / should go out on stage with orders to 'keep them on question' and not let them stray far from it.

With as many candidates as the GOP will have on stage, there's not any time to spare for long winded responses.
Click to expand...

Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

Since Trump has apparently decided he will not participate in the debates, do you know if the line-up has changed? I can't find anything on this anywhere I have looked....
 
eohrnberger said:
Participant, no, but a manager of the time and the response, I'd say yes.
But I have to admit that I've not been part of a debate team to know the rules.
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Well the tv "debates" are not like scored college debates. The format is way different.

In NCAA debating you are arguing for or against a single proposition, and the format is like you would see it on your ballot --

- argument in favor
- rebuttal of argument in favor
- argument opposed
- rebuttal of argument opposed.

On the tv debates, they are debating a number of issues, and the format is simply as follows usually --

- statement by the 1st candidate
- rebuttal by the 2nd candidate.

In either case, the moderator or judge is not supposed to say anything, other than calling time when expired.

In an NCAA debate, the moderator is also the judge who scores the debate.

On tv, it is the audience who will form their own impressions, and then afterwards there will be news commentary and editorial as to who looked and sounded good and therefore "won the debate."

So as you say, managing the time -- clearly yes.

Managing the responses -- absolutely not.
 
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polgara said:
Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

Since Trump has apparently decided he will not participate in the debates, do you know if the line-up has changed? I can't find anything on this anywhere I have looked....
Click to expand...

Wow !!!

The Donald chickened ???
 
polgara said:
Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

Since Trump has apparently decided he will not participate in the debates, do you know if the line-up has changed? I can't find anything on this anywhere I have looked....
Click to expand...

Greetings, Polgara. :2wave:
I must be one step behind you, as I've not even heard that Trump isn't participating. Last thing that I did hear, or perhaps thought I'd heard, was that they were going to let all the candidates on the debate stage.
 
Riveroaks said:
Well the tv "debates" are not like scored college debates. The format is way different.

In NCAA debating you are arguing for or against a single proposition, and the format is like you would see it on your ballot --

- argument in favor
- rebuttal of argument in favor
- argument opposed
- rebuttal of argument opposed.

On the tv debates, they are debating a number of issues, and the format is simply as follows usually --

- statement by the 1st candidate
- rebuttal by the 2nd candidate.

In either case, the moderator or judge is not supposed to say anything, other than calling time when expired.

In an NCAA debate, the moderator is also the judge who scores the debate.

On tv, it is the audience who will form their own impressions, and then afterwards there will be news commentary and editorial as to who looked and sounded good and therefore "won the debate."

So as you say, managing the time -- clearly yes.

Managing the responses -- absolutely not.
Click to expand...

I am now more informed about formal debating than I was before.
Thank you.
 
polgara said:
Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

Since Trump has apparently decided he will not participate in the debates, do you know if the line-up has changed? I can't find anything on this anywhere I have looked....
Click to expand...

Riveroaks said:
Wow !!!

The Donald chickened ???
Click to expand...

Giving this a second thought, well, yeah.

Donald isn't a debater. He's way ahead of everyone else in the polls. He's got eveything to lose and next to nothing to gain. Why would he?

Of course, that's exactly where Hillary thinks she is, but I think in her case, it's delusion rather than reality, also considering her poll numbers, especially at being trustful and honest (miserable failures in both cases for her).
 
eohrnberger said:
Giving this a second thought, well, yeah.

Donald isn't a debater. He's way ahead of everyone else in the polls. He's got eveything to lose and next to nothing to gain. Why would he?

Of course, that's exactly where Hillary thinks she is, but I think in her case, it's delusion rather than reality, also considering her poll numbers, especially at being trustful and honest (miserable failures in both cases for her).
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Hillary must debate in order to prove she is up to the job "as a woman." Since she would be the first US President in history she has this glass ceiling mountain to climb.

If the GOP elects The Donald without him first debating the other candidates then the GOP is insane.

And even so, if he then makes it to the final election, I think he would be forced to debate -- good at it or not.

Trump himself is nothing grander than a blood sucking vulture as a businessman and this would come out in any debate and he then would "lose." That is no doubt what he is hoping to forestall by avoidance.

It's similar to the issue of Romney releasing his tax returns. The second he did so he was dead in the water. But until then he tried to put it off.
 
radcen said:
If you were the "Presidential Debate Czar", how would your debates differ from current and recent debates?
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I would have elimination rounds. Stall, avoid, and spin, and you are eliminated from the debate. I'd call it Chopped Debate.
 
the moderator should have a buzzer - as soon as the candidate starts going off topic or delivering an obviously canned remark, a loud buzzer is sounded and their microphone is muted.

the moderator then asks a different candidate a question

get buzzed three times in one night and you don't get invited to the next debate
 
eohrnberger said:
Greetings, Polgara. :2wave:
I must be one step behind you, as I've not even heard that Trump isn't participating. Last thing that I did hear, or perhaps thought I'd heard, was that they were going to let all the candidates on the debate stage.
Click to expand...

I hadn't heard it either, but someone told me that a ruling had gone against him on a business matter and he had told Fox he couldn't be there. They must have misunderstood what they heard? I tried to verify, but couldn't find anything about it, and I've been busy today and thought I must have missed it. Weird things happening....
 
eohrnberger said:
Giving this a second thought, well, yeah.

Donald isn't a debater. He's way ahead of everyone else in the polls. He's got eveything to lose and next to nothing to gain. Why would he?

Of course, that's exactly where Hillary thinks she is, but I think in her case, it's delusion rather than reality, also considering her poll numbers, especially at being trustful and honest (miserable failures in both cases for her).
Click to expand...

I guess we'll know if he does show up if it's true or not... :confused:
 
Bethlehem Bill said:
the moderator should have a buzzer - as soon as the candidate starts going off topic or delivering an obviously canned remark, a loud buzzer is sounded and their microphone is muted.

the moderator then asks a different candidate a question

get buzzed three times in one night and you don't get invited to the next debate
Click to expand...

Yet another example of something that could not and would not ever happen in real life.
 
polgara said:
I hadn't heard it either, but someone told me that a ruling had gone against him on a business matter and he had told Fox he couldn't be there. They must have misunderstood what they heard? I tried to verify, but couldn't find anything about it, and I've been busy today and thought I must have missed it. Weird things happening....
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Walks, quacks and looks like a lame excuse to me.
 
eohrnberger said:
Guess so. Thursday at 9:00 PM EST, isn't it?
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That's when he was scheduled to be there. I'll watch both debate groups because Kasich is my Governor and he'll be on the earlier debate, which last I heard starts at 1700.
 
polgara said:
That's when he was scheduled to be there. I'll watch both debate groups because Kasich is my Governor and he'll be on the earlier debate, which last I heard starts at 1700.
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Yeah, I like what I've seen of Kasich so far, and I've liked him when he was congress as well. Always struck me as a down to Earth centrist / moderate, much to my liking.
 
eohrnberger said:
Yeah, I like what I've seen of Kasich so far, and I've liked him when he was congress as well. Always struck me as a down to Earth centrist / moderate, much to my liking.
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Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

He is a good honest man, and he is much liked by the people of Ohio from both parties. He has earned it by the things he has done - lowering taxes, getting business to move here, and cutting waste. He has said "we can't tax our way to prosperity," and he means it. :applaud:
 
radcen said:
If you were the "Presidential Debate Czar", how would your debates differ from current and recent debates?
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It would be fun to have them connected to a lie detector. Of course many politicians are so good a lying, the device probably wouldn't register.
 
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