Tensions Heating up Right Before Presidential Debate

As I was scrolling through the page in the New York Times, the following article caught my eye:

Title: Playing Roles of Referee and, Increasingly, Target During Debates

Date: October 1, 2012

Author: Jeremy W. Peters

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/us/politics/debate-moderators-are-subject-to-partisan-rancor.html?ref=presidentialdebates

This article is about the struggles that the moderators of the upcoming Presidential debates are currently facing. Before reading this, I never really thought about how hard they have it. If there is one fact I will always remember about fame, is that it's not easy. If you're famous, whether being a celebrity or a CEO of a company or a politician or anything else, you're always in the spotlight. Always subject to controversy and ridicule. That's just how it is, nothing we can do about it. The same applies to upcoming moderator Jim Lehrer, who used to be the anchor of the PBS "NewsHour", who is going to moderate the very first debate this week.

The imperturbable journalist, which means very calm, unemotional, has been receiving a lot of negative feedback regarding his position in the debate tomorrow. There's this big question, which he is offended by, of whether or not he's worthy of serving in this debate. It sound to me like people are getting tired of him. His doctrine, in other words principle, of disengagement in this debate has raised a lot of eyebrows lately.

Bob Schieffer, another correspondent who will serve in the debate, has even gone so far as to not cover any of the other debates before he moderates the last one. According to him, politics is "toxic" so he doesn't want to be influenced by any of the other debates before his turn to lead one.  To prepare, he has a binder on his desk, filled with information that keeps being added to.

Candy Crowley, host of the Sunday show "State of the Union" will also be serving in one of the debates. Her desk is covered with cards containing almost everything that comes to mind. Twice a day, Crowley practices transcendental, which means supernatural or abstract, meditation to clear her mind of the many thoughts running through her head.

Martha Radditz, another correspondent, doesn't have as extensive of a preparation technique as Crowley, but she still does prepare. However, during the night, if ideas come to her mind, she writes them down. If she has her phone nearby, she'll email herself about the idea.

So as you can see, a lot has been going on lately concerning these debates. Moderators have been preparing like crazy for when they will serve. They're all subject to rancor, which means bitterness and spite, from the public. And in our class, we should watch this debate very closely. Not just the debate itself, but the events surrounding it, because a lot is going on right now. It's a very important political event this year, perhaps just as much as the Convention to some people, so that's very important for everyone in our class to know about. This homework assignment is a great idea as an introduction to the upcoming debates. Don't miss out!

I have a few questions for you. What do you think about the moderators being in the spotlight like this? Is all of this controversy unnecessary? Or is it just natural? Why?

Now pretend you're going to be the moderator. What should you do to prepare for the debate? Would you try to be as impartial, or unbiased, as possible like Bob Schieffer? Would you write down a ton of notes? Would you meditate? Why? Why not?