Romney and Obama Worried About Moderator Involvement In Second Debate

President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have finally found an area where they are in complete agreement.  Both are worried that the moderator of the second debate, CNN’s Candy Crowley, will not adhere to the agreed upon terms of the debates.

Time magazine reported that lawyers for the campaigns have sent letters to the Commission on Presidential Debates asking them to remind Crowley of her duties.

Crowley has suggested in a  few interviews that she plans to aggressively grill the candidates at the Town Hall Debate.

Crowley said:

“Once the table is kind of set by the town-hall questioner, there is then time for me to say, ‘Hey, wait a second, what about X, Y, Z?’ “

This comment got the lawyers for both sides questioning Crowley’s commitment to the rules. The debate commission confirmed to both sides that they would speak with Crowley and “reconfirm her function.”

According to the agreed upon rules, the document which explains the format says:

“In managing the two-minute comment periods, the moderator will not rephrase the question or open a new topic … The moderator will not ask follow-up questions or comment on either the questions asked by the audience or the answers of the candidates during the debate or otherwise intervene in the debate except to acknowledge the questioners from the audience or enforce the time limits, and invite candidate comments during the two-minute response period.”

Crowley was not party to the agreement reached by the campaigns.

The Time article goes on to say that both candidates are prepping for the idea that Crowley might still overstep her bounds.  Both campaigns are hoping that by making this dispute public that it will encourage Crowley to play by the rules.