“Everyone is to blame for the shallowness of the answers. Candidates don’t like being rushed by the short response times, but they also don’t want to have to talk for too long. In-depth answers and multiple questions on the same topic force candidates into the spooky land beyond talking points. The networks insist on short responses and use gimmicks like Internet questions and hand-raising to create drama (and maybe news). They’d make the candidates race to tie balloon animals if it would generate a spark, because debates are network branding exercises. The MSNBC logo on stage at the first Democratic debate was so large it could have attracted space aliens (and, depending on your view of Mike Gravel, may have succeeded). In any case, the upshot is that the debates have been lackluster. This is no way to treat the most important election of the last 80 years. So, how do we fix it?” [action item included — send your suggestions!] (05/09/07)