{Empty title} | The Nation

A good debate requires minimal involvement by any third parties. There should be few rules and the moderator ought simply to do three things:

1. Enforce some degree of civility

2. Move the discussion along when it seems a subject is exhausted and...

3. When a subject is being dealt with superficially by both parties, encourage more depth.

If there is an insistence on a question format, past performance proves that regular citizens ask better questions.