Stop picking on Joe, Mr. President

Some thoughts on debates:

Why not mute the microphone of the person who’s turn isn’t to speak?

No interruptions that way.

Why do they need to take place in the same room, or synchronously?

You can just as easy ask the same questions and have the participants record their answers. Then you could splice and edit the video so that it broadcasts their answers back-to-back.

What are debates for?

Debates are only useful if opposing arguments are put forward to argue for opposing viewpoints. It’s public and professional discourse we’re after—not buffoonery. People benefit when they hear what the speakers stand for, not what they have to say about each other.

We—as viewers, moderators, and producers—either need to get really clear about what a debate is for—about what’s acceptable and what isn’t—or shut the whole thing down. (It’s up to us to draw the line…and you can vote in more ways than one.)

Debates can be great when they’re professional and polished. But make no mistake, 3 hours of juvenile contention hurts more than it helps.