Debate Reaction: Debating Schieffer

The final debate of 2008 (49 in total) is over, and there are just 19 days until the election. In the general election, we’ve debated Lehrer, Ifill and Brokaw. One more left — CBS’ Bob Schieffer:

• The Associated Press’ David Bauder writes Schieffer gave, “a smooth and unobtrusive performance.” He writes Schieffer was also able to bring, “the most personal and illuminating conversation between the two men,” with his question about campaign ads.

• Jessica Heslam writes in the Boston Herald about how Schieffer was able to get the candidates to do “something last night that the other moderators failed to do — debate each other.” As for his stated goal before the debate to keep the candidates off their talking points, Heslam writes Schieffer, “did a decent job.”

• Robert G. Kaiser, associate editor of the Washington Post, calls Schieffer the “best moderator,” of this election cycle in an online Q&A this morning. “He tried the hardest to keep the debaters on topic, and to evoke some new responses,” he writes. Still he doesn’t think the moderator deserves all the credit: “The table does too,” he says of the format.

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