Mix It Up
The New Republic Online has an idea for how to fix the debates. “get rid of the moderators and bring in real experts.”
Not a bad idea, really, but I think Greenberg (the author) pulls back a little too far in terms of who he thinks should be brought in. For what it’s worth, here’s who I’d use if they asked me.
A five-person panel, made up of:
One person who’s actually served in a cabinet-level position or higher and is in a position to know the day-to-day process of being president. This person should be the moderator but would also be expected to ask non-partisan, follow-up questions like “Yes, Mr. President, but how would you do this?”
Two columnists who are generally acknowledged to lean Democratic, and two that are generally acknowledged to lean Republican. They can ask questions as partisan as they like.
Why columnists instead of reporters? Because most reporters have on-the-other-handed themselves into irrelevance, whereas columnists are paid to have opinions and develop and present them well.
Wouldn’t you rather hear what questions EJ Dionne, Jr or Joe Conason would ask George W. Bush than Charlie Gibson or even Jim Leher? I know I would. And let’s see what John Kerry would say to questions asked by Pat Buchanan or Jerry Falwell.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves that anyone really believes in non-partisan politicians any more. They’re dead. We can argue over who killed them another time, but let’s stop pretending. In the immortal words of Bruno on The West Wing (ironically played by Bush buddy Ron Silver), let’s have two parties instead of some monolithic, boring mass.
Let’s take sides and ask the questions the country really wants.
