Taking Debate

Ignore the premise of the question.

   "Mean" and "nasty" were some of the terms used by GOP debaters to describe some of the questions put to them Wednesday by the journalist-moderators.
   That is, when the contestants didn't ignore the question entirely and speechified on something else. The moderators lost control of the proceedings in the first five minutes of the two-hour televised session on CNBC. 
   From there on, the so-called debate was more a matter of name-calling, bragging, half-answers and non-answers as the presidential candidates held to their individual agendas and spoke at length on their prepared topics, regardless of the questions posed. And when their allotted time was up, they simply kept talking. At one point, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized a moderator for interrupting when his time was up. "Even in New Jersey, that's called rude," Christie said.
   For the next debate, the moderator should wield a gavel.
   Continuing to talk past the time limit and ignoring the question is not new among politicians. Typically, if they don't like the question or don't know the answer, they prattle on about something else, which may or may not be relevant to the issue. In addition, they attack the journalist as being "unfair," or mean and nasty for daring to ask tough questions.
   But that's what journalists do. Moreover, journalists in general as well as the moderator and questioners at the debate are trained to not respond to personal attacks. So while vilification by the candidate may rouse support among rabid followers, it does not and should not incite anger among the journalists, much less counter-attack. They have tougher hides than that. If they don't, they should find another line of work.
   Meanwhile, the tough questions remain, and should be answered. As noted by this editor more than 20 years ago, good journalists are neither advocates nor adversaries. We ask the tough questions because they need to be asked. Attacking the messenger because you don't like the news never changes the news itself.
   In short, candidates on the debate stage should answer the question, because attacking a news reporter is never a good idea. After all, the pen is still mightier than the sword.