[TXnMA]

Look at the video. There are flat-panel displays in the aisles -- displaying elapsed times.

IMHO, those numbers should be displayed continually at the top of the TV screen (plus running totals per candidate) so everyone can see how the time is really being allocated.

[Red Steel]

Well that explains it. Thanks.

[Tired of Taxes]

On C-Span, a running total for speaking time was displayed at the bottom of the screen, and, in the end, Obama received about 3-4 minutes more of speaking time than Romney.

[ExTxMarine]

Look at the video. There are flat-panel displays in the aisles -- displaying elapsed times.

IMHO, those numbers should be displayed continually at the top of the TV screen (plus running totals per candidate) so everyone can see how the time is really being allocated.

First, I agree! Let the audience know the truth, so that the Dems can't use this as an excuse to cut into Romney's answer time (which is one of the reasons Obama does it).

In all three of this cycle's debates, the Dem participants have continually begged the moderator to ensure they get their time. At the end of each debate, we have seen that the Dems had MORE time than the Reps. I think they mention their time tracking as a sort of "pre-emptive strike" and a subtle, subliminal message to the audience to suggest that they are getting shorted on time.

At the next debate, as soon as Obama mentions his "time concerns," Romney should tell Obama that he has had four years and an extra four minutes through the last two debates and he still has NOT explained his plan for the future other than doing the same thing as the last four years! SLAM him with that crap!