On Saturday, Republican candidates complained of the hostile nature of the CNBC moderators at last Wednesday’s debate in Boulder, Colo.
We agree — kind of.
It serves no purpose for the debate moderator to add more fuel to the fire of what are increasingly contentious arenas. By their very design, debates are of an adversarial nature. To make them downright nasty is not conducive to producing good answers.
That said, the role of a moderator is to hold candidates’ feet to the fire to ensure the truth is being told and to keep the discussion on track. Sometimes that requires being forceful.
For the most part, the debates are the general public’s only opportunities to see how the candidates think on their feet and how they generally comport themselves.
WITH PLENTY of debates still to come — the election is just now a full year away — TV networks should heed the complaints of the candidates to keep the debates as civil as possible, while still keeping the truth as their main objective.
A formidable challenge, to be sure.
— Susan Lynn
