Shake up the debates

There was some consternation when the moderators for the presidential debates were announced and we learned that Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw and Bob Schieffer would referee. For Lehrer -- who will host the first debate Friday, if it goes forward -- this will be his 11th appearance. Brokaw has covered presidential elections since 1976, and Schieffer has been reporting in Washington since 1970.

Though I didn't share it, the fear was that white, senior males would be deferential to a white, senior candidate they've known for decades. I believe that Lehrer, Brokaw and Schieffer will make every effort to be evenhanded. But even if they tilt the playing field, it won't matter -- the campaigns and the Commission on Presidential Debates have just tweaked the format so the candidates can directly confront each other. In the process, it would seem that the moderators have been reduced to mere timekeepers.

Before negotiations with the campaigns began, the plan was for the two formal debates (the third is a "town hall" format) to focus on nine questions, with nine minutes devoted to each. Now, each topic will still be allotted nine minutes -- but not for focused debate. Instead, the candidates will begin each response with a two-minute statement, which, freely translated, means two minutes from their stump speeches. That leaves only five minutes for discussion of any topic -- just long enough to offer the merest start of an exploration of complex issues such as, for example, conflicting explanations for the success of the military "surge" in Baghdad.

The Commission on Presidential Debates called these rules "a breakthrough in the history of televised debates." And the commission and the political parties speak of these craven modifications as if the public interest were their overriding concern. But to do well, a candidate need only memorize enough statistics and one-liners to fill 45 minutes -- essentially what many college students do at exam time. No wonder these debates are likely to disappoint politically aware viewers and fail to enlighten those who watch out of a sense of duty.

It's a pity. Just a few changes in format could transform these unrevealing, visually static and technologically backward shows into genuine must-see TV.