The presidential candidates won't just have to watch out for each other at tonight's second presidential debate. They might have to deal with a very involved moderator.
The campaigns have released the debate contract that governs what can and cannot happen at the presidential debates, known as the "Memorandum of Understanding."
Some of the detailed minutiae laid out on the document include:
"At no debate shall the moderator ask the candidates for a 'show of hands' or similar calls for response."
"The moderator shall select the questioners, but she may not 'coach' the questioners."
"Dressing rooms shall be comparable in size and in quality and in proximity to the debate stage."
According to Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, the document also covers:
"What would happen if another candidate qualified for the debates."
"The candidates agreed not to publicly call for any additional debates beyond the Commission-sponsored events."
"Candidates aren't allowed to cite anyone in the audience (besides family members) during the debate."
"Candidates aren't allowed to address questions to each other or ask the other candidate to take a pledge."
But moderator Candy Crowley of CNN is taking issue with some of the restrictions on her role in the debate. One of the stipulations says:
"The moderator will not ask follow-up questions or comment on either the questions asked by the audience or the answers of the candidates during the debate or otherwise intervene in the debate except to acknowledge the questioners from the audience or enforce the time limits, and invite candidate comments during the 2 minute response period."
Crowley has said she intends to be involved in the discussion to make sure the candidates don't get off track or avoid answering difficult questions.
"They will call on 'Alice,' and 'Alice' will stand up and ask a question. Both candidates will answer. Then there's time for a follow-up question, facilitating a discussion, whatever you want to call it," she said to CNN.
"So if Alice asks oranges, and someone answers apples, there's the time to go, 'But Alice asked oranges? What's the answer to that?" Or, 'Well, you say this, but what about that?'"
The campaigns are concerned that Crowley will push their candidate into an uncomfortable situation.
While most viewers and pundits agreed that Martha Raddatz, moderator of the vice-presidential debate, did a much better job than Jim Lehrer, moderator of the first presidential debate, the campaigns far preferred Lehrer's hands-off approach, which gave the candidates more leeway in shaping their message.
This second presidential debate is a town hall format, with questions asked by audience members, so the moderator will necessarily play a smaller role than Raddatz did, but it remains to be seen whether Crowley will let Romney and Obama stick to their prepared talking points or force them to respond directly to the tough questions audiences want answered.
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