A call for free-range presidential debates…

An item on Politico.com caught my eye, but not in a good way….see this piece by James Hohmann, he's thinking like a TV marketing guy instead of a political analyst, he thinks moderator Jim Lehrer's job in next week's first presidential debate is to "make some news."

Here's the whole quote: Lehrer should " make two of the most scripted and steady debaters in politics break stride and make some news when they face off in Denver."

I think that's dumb and destructive.

I think the purpose of the debates should be for President Obama and Romney to do the talking, and for voters to do the learning.

In fact, I think the "moderator questions the candidates" setup is one of the big things that's wrong with the debate format, and with political news coverage in general. I don't think the point should be to try to provoke a "gotcha" moment that will make a great video clip on the so-called "analysis" segment that will follow the debate, and will be shown endlessly for days afterward...

I think Lehrer should do this: Smile at the audience, tell the candidates they're on their own, flip a coin to see who talks first, activate that guy's microphone for 2 minutes, then shut it off and activate the other guy's mike for 2 minutes, then shut it off and……you get the picture....

Bill Moyers on media....

The day the news died