Open debates

The ideal of open debates is in direct opposition to the current practice of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which, according to a November 12, 2003 New York Times editorial by Paul Weyrich and Randall Robinson, "allows the two major parties even greater control over the selection of [presidential debate] format. Candidates must agree on panelists and moderators. They can also prohibit candidate-to-candidate questioning, require the screening of town-hall questions, artificially limit response times and ban follow-up questions. The result is a series of glorified bipartisan news conferences, where the major-party candidates merely recite prepackaged sound bites and avoid discussing many important issues."

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Other Related SourceWatch Resouces

• U.S. presidential election, 2004

External links

• Open Debates 2000/Open Debates at fair.org.
• What's New at FAIR (2003).

Headlines

• 14 October 2003: "Effort to Reform the Presidential Debates Intensifies", Open Debates news release.
• 12 November 2003: "End the Debates Before They Start" by Paul Weyrich and Randall Robinson, New York Times.