Here's how to solve the debate time problem

[jascott]

Allocate each candidate ten minutes, total. Each candidate's clock counts down whenever he's talking. After his clock runs out, he says nothing (and gets asked no more questions) for the rest of the debate. He's welcome to blow all ten minutes on his first answer, or he can give a five-second soundbite answer to each question and save most of his time for his closing statement, or anything in between. He can spend more time on worthwhile questions and give just brief responses to questions which he thinks are a waste of time. All the clocks are displayed to be visible to all the candidates.
The current idiotic rules just encourage each candidate to run his mouth as long as possible whenever he gets a chance, turning the debate into a time monopolization contest, to the detriment of substantive debate content.

If anybody from the campaign is reading this, please ask Paul to propose this rule change for future debates. There's no good reason for the other candidates to refuse this change, and the candidates themselves are the ones who choose the debate rules.

One other thing: if the moderators run _their_ mouths too much, like they did in tonight's debate (December 10), then each candidate still gets his full ten minutes, and the time comes out of the network's commercial break time.

[ronpaulitician]

Paul does okay in this format. I don't think he'd do as well if he knows there's a timer running, and every second he wasted on the current answer is a second he won't get on his next answer. (see Huckabee forum)

[muzzled dogg]

lol the goal is not to provide equal time

[Bern]

I think just having clocks / timers visible on the podium or behind the candidate, so that the audience can see how much time each candidate has been allotted, would be sufficient sunshine to coerce a fairer distribution of time from the moderators. No need to impose artificial limits. CBS took it on the chin for their 89 seconds fiasco and the blowback support for Ron was priceless.

[nayjevin]

The first step to realizing they are all a sham is to realize how simple it would be to make a fair debate.

[vechorik]

I think the higher in the polls, the more time Dr. Paul will get; therefore, call from home gets Dr. Paul the most debate time.

They always talk about the top two candidates and let's face it, Dr. Paul isn't there yet.

Get to work with "phone from home"!