Potemkin Town Hall

This isn't quite the way my New England forebears did things...

–The questions will be culled from a group of 100 to 150 uncommitted likely voters in the audience and another one-third to come via the Internet. Brokaw selects which questions to ask from written queries submitted prior to the debate.

–The Gallup Organization makes sure the questioners reflect the demographic makeup of the nation.

–An audience member isn’t allowed to switch questions and will not be allowed a follow-up either. His or her microphone will be turned off after the question is read and a camera shot will only be shown of the person asking — not reacting.

–The moderator may not ask followups or make comments.

–McCain and Obama will be provided with director’s chairs, but they’re also allowed to stand. They can’t roam past their “designated area” marked on the stage and are not supposed to ask each other direct questions.

Questions "culled" from written queries submitted prior to the debate really means that we'll be watching "real people" as props, asking the questions that Tom Brokaw wants, and ONLY the questions Tom Brokaw wants asked. The agenda won't be driven by what the people want, so much as what Brokaw wants talked about. No follow-ups and no reaction shots either, meaning that the debaters can freely 'pull a Palin' and talk about anything at all, and we won't even get to see the questioner's confused or angry face.

Anyone who watched convention coverage on MSNBC has reason to feel uneasy about this arrangement. It was fairly clear that Brokaw has a preference in this race, and that it was affecting his perspective on events. It's easy to think his 'culling' of questions may be shaped by this bias, consciously or not. This will be a debate with Tom Brokaw moderating, with people reduced to audio-animatronic props used to ask questions.

The essence of the original town meetings was that the people involved were forced to make their cases and defend themselves in actual engagement with other real people and their reactions. It was about give-and-take between equals in the most essential democratic context. This arrangement is anything but that.