In 2016, the Commission on Presidential Debates should replace the town-hall format with an event patterned after Rick Warren’s successful candidate forum in 2008. At that event, Mr. Warren, an evangelical preacher at Saddleback Church in southern California, took turns speaking one-on-one with the candidates, asking John McCain and Barack Obama the same questions while the other waited backstage in a soundproof room.
The commission could craft a forum following a similar format. A moderator could prepare a script based in part on suggestions from undecided voters. The questions could cover a wide range of topics with the goal of including subjects beyond those typically covered in debate briefing books. Each candidate would take a turn interacting with the moderator, answering the same series of questions. This would also allow the moderator to press candidates to answer questions they try to evade.
Still, some voters might worry: But how would candidates dispute inaccuracies in the other’s statements? They would still have two other traditional-style debates for direct interaction, and they would provide natural contrast in their individual responses.
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