On Thursday, Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates was kind enough to speak with students of George Mason University, Pace University, and the University of Denver about the past and future of presidential debates.

The interview was hosted by Steve Scully as part of the distance learning series on C-SPAN3, and streamed online as well. Using a broadband audio/video feed from C-SPAN's studios, this series digitally connects classrooms with a guest speaker and allows them to interact with one another. This allows a guest speaker to be in three places (or potentially more) at once.

Led by Scully, a long series of clips from past Presidential Debates were shown; from 1960's Nixon vs. Kennedy up through Gore vs. Quayle vs. Stockdale in 1992. In between clips, Brown provided viewers with anecdotal reactions and some insights from the other side of the cameras.

She stressed the importance of paying attention to details; things like lighting and audio, obviously. She also referred to the 1988 Bush vs Dukakis debate, in which a "pitcher's mound" was used to even out the height difference between the candidates. The underlying goal is to keep things as aesthetically even as possible, so that each candidate has a fair chance of winning over the public with their words.

Brown went on to describe the 3 criteria for deciding who will act as moderator in these debates:

- Someone who understands the issues

- Someone with plenty of experience working with television

- Someone who realizes they are not in the spotlight; keep the focus on the candidates

Basically, a moderator must be able to "use time effectively, and pose questions without inserting themselves;" a moderator's personal agenda has no place in a debate.