Someone picked by Google News (Atlantic? CSM?) made a suggestion that I like.
The right format is one chosen by Rick Warren 4 years ago. An intelligent person — not therefore Candy Something — talks to one candidate at a time in a conversation lasting about one hour. The candidates do not get a preview of the questions or topics. When one candidate is interviewed, the other listens in the green room.
Each candidate picks one interviewer from a list and so there are four interviews: Candidate R with the interviewer of R’s choice, Candidate D with the interviewer of R’s choice, Candidate R with the interviewer of D’s choice, Candidate D with the interviewer of D’s choice.
Such format will allow for a serious conversation and discourage gotchas, soundbites, stupid questions, and generally professional wrestler behavior on the part of the candidates.
That format could work, and there are perhaps dozens of others that should be considered, but one thing is certain, this should be the LAST time we get rolled in this current BS method.. It seems every time we end up saying the same thing, WE GOT SCREWED AGAIN!