Several of the Republican candidates are upset with CBS News for not allotting them much time during last night’s debate. In Michele Bachmann’s case, her campaign received an inadvertent email from CBS News’ political analyst John Dickerson which predicted she wouldn’t receive much time because she is polling so poorly. I have a couple of observations about this.
I know it is difficult to manage a debate with eight participants and only ninety minutes of time. And I know that there is an incentive to focus the debate on the candidates who are relevant. But this practice of giving more time to people who are polling better is fatally flawed and very unfair.
If you’ve been paying attention to the Republican contest, you know that the polls have fluctuated wildly, with candidates like Bachmann, Cain, and Perry taking turns as the strongest challenger to Mitt Romney. Recently, Newt Gingrich has been on the rise while Rick Perry’s support has completely collapsed. With this kind of volatility, the candidate you give more time to today might be at the bottom of the polls tomorrow (and vice-versa). I think polls can play a part, but not once the debate has started.
In the interest of having a meaningful debate with adequate time for each candidate, it’s reasonable to have some metric that candidates must meet to gain entry. For example, you might devise a metric that considers polling averages, fundraising, and endorsements from federal elected officials. That’s just one idea, and different organizations can come up with different standards. As long as the standards are transparent and consistent, candidates will know what they need to do to qualify for a podium in the debates.
I’d suggest that debates limit themselves to no more than five candidates for a ninety-minute format. That would give each candidate about eighteen minutes of time, as opposed to last night when Ron Paul (according to his campaign) got only ninety seconds of time during the televised hour of the debate.
Once the debate starts, each candidate should be treated completely equally. I don’t think there is a debating society or club in America that doesn’t operate on the principle of equal time. I think it’s reasonable to exclude people from a debate, but not reasonable to limit their time based on their momentary position in the polls.
