Obama should agree to a debate -- But only if it is moderated by someone like....

[Armstead]

Margaret Warner of PBS Newshour or Walter Cronkheit (remember him?) or some other actual journalist, rather than more self-promoting "celebrity" TeeVee anchorboobs and rating's obsessed networks.

A debate moderated by someone who actually wants to referee an actual dialogue about issues, rather than another three-ring circus or tabloid "gotcha game show" would be useful.

[bdamomma]

1. Bill Moyers would be a good choice.

[rndmprsn]

2. excellent choice...kronkite too

[madwivoter]

16. Bill Moyers would be a nice change.

Thoughtful, objective, insightful...

[KittyWampus]

17. Moyers would have no qualms asking tough questions of either candidate

[madwivoter]

35. He would ask tough, relevant questions.

I would bet the farm on that (if I had a farm :)). I'm a huge fan of Mr. Moyers.

[graycem]

28. Good choice..

He's one of the few left with actual journalistic integrity.

[Medusa]

3. Front runners don't need to debate

that political conventional wisdom is as old as the hills. Obama doesn't need another debate. Hillary does (no money and she's losing).

[Triana]

4. Yes. As long as it's not another attempted political lynching...

...thinly disguised as a "debate" he could do another. NO ex-Clinton employees or Hillary "friends" ought to be "moderating" certainly, and and NO ONE from a lamestream media outlet. Only PBS mods, academics, or someone like Cronkite.

Really though, he ought to challenge McSame to a debate (given the above rules) and ignore Hillary and let her flail, insult, foam, and drool a bit.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. Obama should debate McCain on PBS

but to debate Hillary is to give a drunk a bottle of wine.

Bad idea and does no good.

[Triana]

10. Ha! Love the analogy!

He should debate McSame on PBS - good idea. Would give people the idea that even though Hillary hasn't the sense to move on past her defeat, that at least Obama does, and he (unlike her) is able to keep his eye on the big picture.

[Saturday]

6. I have a news flash for you....

Regular folks in this country want to know why Obama doesn't wear a flag pin, sat in the pews and listened to Wright for 20 years etc. Political junkies don't but regular people want to see the character of a person by common questions. You can scoff at that but if Obama wants to be President he has to figure out ahead of time what his answers are going to be because the questions WILL be asked no matter who the moderator is.

[LakeSamish706]

12. Yeah well I got a news flash for you. Regular folks want to know why Hillary is...

a pathological lier.

[Armstead]

13. That poop already gets ample coverage.

There has been no shortage of coverage or debates about "gaffes" and inane side-issues, personal acquaintyences, etc.

Therefore, no need or purpose in more of the same.

But an actual debate over such questions as differences over trade poilicy, Iraq withdrawal, economic proposals and beliefs, etc. would be useful.

[Saturday]

15. I'm afraid people won't tune in to that.

They vote for who they "like" or could have a beer with.

[Armstead]

21. Maybe, maybe not.....But that doesn;t mean it's not worth doing

IMO, a free-flowing and tough-minded debate about actual issues would be just as interesting -- perhaps more so -- than mindless nyah-nyah over the respectability or lack of respectability of William Ayers, or flag pins.

If you want to be clinical about it, the tension and combat is what gets attention. Imagine if such tension were allowed about the issues that really do matter to people.

[Saturday]

25. The problem with that is they are so close on issues

it doesn't seem to be matter to people.

[Blue_Roses]

29. not any more...

Bush has just about ruined that image--thank goodness

[graycem]

26. Then those regular folks...

should look to Bush and Cheney and their henchmen who DO wear flag pins, to see how irrelevant they actually are when we're talking about patriotism. That is a stupid tabloid question and everyone knows it. That's the argument he should make.

[Life Long Dem]

30. That's bullshit. That's a debate against one candidate.

One candidate explains the answer and the other candidate(s) attacks them on this. Bullshit.

Let's debate Hilliary's character flaws and personality and have candidates attack her.

[Independent-Voter]

40. If those dipships haven't seen any of the other 24 debates thus far, fuck 'em

Really, this silly shit is getting out of hand. I know Hillary's mouthbreathers get off on that stupid shit, but the real issues have already been debated ad nauseum.

[Tesha]

45. These are the same folks who want to know why Hillary is still married to a...

...pathological serial philanderer. And whether those rumors
they've heard are true about Bill and Hill's marital problems
coming down to her "liking girls". And whether she personally
pulled the trigger to kill Vince Foster or she just asked
someone to do it for her.

Don't go there. You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
And Hillary isn't wearing a flea collar.

Tesha

[Neshanic]

7. Bill Moyers or Walter. For the Obama kiddies...Spongebob!

[LakeSamish706]

8. Obama should not agree to a debate... The Clinton campaign just wants to...

raise money on a debate with him. Obama should begin the phase of ignoring Clinton and get on with addressing McCain.

[izquierdista]

20. Difficult to do

Hillary is a painful sunburn, reminding one of her presence with every move and turn of the body.

[tishaLA]

47. She also just wants to insult him to his face

instead of in stump speeches. When I saw the post this morning with Terry Mcauliffe saying that Wright, the flag pin bullshit, Ayers, Michelle, etc. were "fair game," that did it for me.

[quantass]

9. Obama no more debates until McCain, and then PBS + Repubtable Moderators ONLY. Good MSM backhand

[SoxFan]

11. Jim Lehrer, Josh Marshall

Marshall is generally pretty fair on his TPM site. Just keep his pet boy Greg Sargent away from the show.

Lehrer has run debates before, and always does a good job.

[liberaldem4ever]

14. I have always loved Walter Cronkite

I doubt he would agree to moderate a debate-he has a conflict of interest since he is a personal friend of Bill Clinton. I've seen pics of them sailing together off Martha's Vineyard. Cronkite has a lot of integrity and probably wouldn't do it for that reason. Unlike George Stephanopoulos who is also a personal friend of the Clintons and has no integrity whatsoever.

[TexasLady]

19. When I was a kid, I remember my parents watching him

all the time. I always loved his voice, and remember the map of Cambodia, without understanding all of what it meant. Even as kids, we would joke around, pretending to be 'Walter Concrete', lol.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

18. I say let the two of them debate alone for 9 hrs or until one of them winds up un conscience

[Armstead]

27. Actually I like that concpt -- Maybe set up a Debate Channel...

[QC]

22. Michelle should moderate the debate.

Hillary should be forced to appear strapped to a dolly and wearing one of those Hannibal Lecter masks.

[Bread and Circus]

23. I vote Bill Moyers

one of the few respectable tv journalists I know of.

[Life Long Dem]

24. Oh yeah... I'd love to see a real debate. None of this bullshit we saw with ABC.

What a total turnoff from any debates after that one.

[RazBerryBeret]

31. I would be really interested in a debate

with jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as the moderators.
it would be funny, yet interesting and informative.
they can easily get to the heart of the matter without offending.
ie--Jon Stewart telling Obama that the big question on everyone's mind
was if, when he's elected, he is going to enslave the white race.

Now THAT was funny...I live in Ohio, and I'm convinced that's not too far off the mark....
sadly....

[BigDDem]

32. He's a total wuss

Hey maybe his 2 kids could moderate.
"Daddy, do you like kittens?"

[Armstead]

46. Yeah he's debated how many times already?

I realize stupidity in debates is a format that benefits Hillary (Macho Girl).

My suggestion that we have a debate in which the moderators are actually putting their fett to the fire about stuff that matters.

[endarkenment]

33. Once upon a time the league of women voters ran debates

On October 2, 1988, the league's 14 trustees voted unanimously to pull out of the debates, and on October 3 they issued a dramatic press release:

The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates ... because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Women_Voters

[Arkansas Granny]

34. Yes, a serious debate on the issues would give people a much better idea

of the candidates stance on the issues than the "gotcha" debates we've been subjected to thus far.

[RBInMaine]

36. AGREED and I wrote the Obama campaign asking them to do so.

[Zachstar]

37. I can understand Dan and Walter. Other than that (Just because it would be interesting) no more!!!!!

[crankychatter]

38. Carville was foaming at the mouth over the debate question

on Larry King with Bill Richardson...

If that guy thinks it's so important... then Obama should definitely not do it.

[indimuse]

39. I like Margret Warner...

good choice.

[Armstead]

43. She's very underappreciated

She's one of the better interviewers on television, largely because she keeps the focus on the guest rather than herself.

[olkaz]

41. AMY GOODMAN

She is the absolute best and would shred them both. Really make 'em work.

Amy is freaking awesome.

[Armstead]

42. In an ideal world, yes.....Or an intellegent cross section panel including her

[olkaz]

44. I'd go for that too.

Any way that got her involved would make me happy.

I really look up to her.

[DearAbby]

48. Obama should debate McCain

I see no reason to debate Clinton again, wasnt the past 20-something debates enough?

[newmajority]

49. If there's a debate in Portland, Thom Hartmann would be an excellent moderator.

And he gets to write his own questions.

Not that I think Hillary needs anymore free air time. Or that another debate is necessary.

What the Obama camp should be doing now, is making sure that there are REAL debates against Grandpa McLoon in October.