Let The Candidates “Get It On”
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.
CBS 2 Political Analyst

So, the second so-called debate/town meeting between Barack Obama and John McCain is history. This was supposed to be McCain's best format. He wanted town meetings, because he felt he could engage average citizens and not have to deal with irritating questions and follow ups from media moderators. Only one catch—McCain is strongest when he is directly engaging his opponent.

Yet it was clear from the town meeting format that the Presidential Debate Commission (together with top operatives for McCain and Obama) had agreed to a format that was restrictive, stilted, and guaranteed anything but a direct dialogue between the two candidates. Moderator Tom Brokaw did all he could to enforce the debate rules and, in the process, often seemed to be stopping Obama and McCain from truly engaging each other. Obama would make a charge about McCain's tax plan, saying it would give massive tax breaks to corporate fat cats, including CEOs of oil companies, and McCain would be chomping at the bit to respond and take issue with Obama.

But of course, the debate rules didn't allow that. McCain became frustrated time and time again. For Obama's part, he too wanted to engage McCain, particularly when McCain accused Obama of wanting to raise taxes on millions of Americans and promoting a foreign policy that would be dangerous and irresponsible. Brokaw continually reminded each candidate that it was their campaign advisors who made the rules, even though most viewers would have wanted Brokaw to say "to heck with the rules" and just let the candidates talk directly to each other as long as they were civil and respectful.

So here's my recommendation for the debate coming up on October 15, to be moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS's Face the Nation…scrap the rules. For 90 minutes, Schieffer should simply throw out a topic or issue and let the candidates go at it. Schieffer is more than capable of exercising good judgment and allowing for relatively equal time for each candidate. They can respond to each other, clarify what needs clarification, ask direct questions to each other, and give viewers a real sense of who they are and how they communicate in the moment and on the spot. That's an important part of leading.

Instead, what we get are canned one-liners and a recitation of their dopey 30-second attack ads against each other. That's the last thing we need in the last few weeks of this race. The only way we can stop this from happening is if McCain and Obama agree that a more open and interactive format is the only way to improve the quality of political discourse in the midst of the cesspool we are currently in. Anything else would be another disappointment, shortchanging the American people. With the current format, no matter who wins this race, the voters will wind up losing. And, with the stakes so high, and our challenges so daunting, we can't afford such an outcome.

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