As noted on Twitter late Monday afternoon, there are some fascinating details in the agreement outlining the rules for the debates agreed to be both campaigns.
Among the rules:
- Neither candidate is allowed to ask direct questions of the other.
- The candidates shall not address each other with proposed pledges.
- Neither candidate may point to or cite folks in the audience besides family members.
- Rules of tonight’s debate say no “speeches, statements, or comments” by audience questioners. Good luck with that one. The rules do say that the microphone is to be cut off once the question is asked.
- The only audience participation is supposed to be the asking of the questions; no cheering, jeering, applause, or other response outside of the introductions.
- At no debate shall the moderator ask for “a show of hands” or similar calls for response.
- No closing statement tonight; for the final debate, candidates will have a choice of either a 90-second or two-minute closing statement.
- No issuing challenges or ultimatums for additional debates, no appearing at other forums, and no accepting television or radio offers that involve a debate format.
If a candidate
violates the agreement, the moderator is to inform the audience. Of
course, if either of these guys thinks they have some slam-dunk gotcha
moment in the works, a momentary “tsk-tsk” from Candy Crowley or Bob
Schieffer may be worth it.
Obama has probably
been told a million times to hit the “47 percent” comment early and
often. The big question is how aggressive he can be in the town-hall
setting without coming across as dislikeable. (Note that Obama is really
tough when his opponents can’t hit back, such as when he denounced
Ryan’s plan in April 2011 to an audience that included Ryan, or when he
demonized the Supreme Court in that State of the Union Address, with
Alito and the gang sitting right in front of him. He loves the uneven
playing field and hasn’t had to share a stage with someone who can make
counterarguments since McCain in autumn 2008. Up against Romney, he
hesitated, even nudging Lehrer to move on to another topic at one
point.)
Tim Stanley of the Daily Telegraph:
“Accepting the momentum in these numbers, Romney doesn’t need a
knockout blow to win Tuesday night’s debate. He simply has to duck and
jab, just like Paul Ryan did, and score a draw. The debate is Romney’s
to lose. Given all the rumours flying around that Obama is going to be
‘aggressive,’ Mitt should let the Prez be as aggressive as he wants. It
certainly didn’t work for Biden.”
http://thepage.time.com/2012/10/15/the-2012-debates-memorandum-of-understanding-between-the-obama-and-romney-campaigns/
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