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that's another story), and I was in the control room. In those days, the control room was literally in the studio, so the director could watch what was going on. Now, of course, the control room could be blocks or miles away.

Bobby Kennedy wanted to come into the control room to watch the debate on the monitors, and so did a representative of each of the candidates, because they were quite concerned about the reaction shots. The camera would be on Kennedy, but if they shot Nixon and he had a sneer on his face, it might play to the disadvantage of Kennedy when he was talking. So, reaction shots became an important detail, and they had people in, literally counting the reaction shots. I don't know whether Bobby wanted to be in there for that or not, but Bobby wanted to be in there, and just before we went to air, Bobby said, over the PA system, to Jack, “Never mind the question, just keep your mind on the answer.” I knew then that what they had insisted on, of not having any followup questions, was the death of that technique. They have steadfastly refused to have followup questions.

Now, they've loosened up a little bit on that, but that's been a sticking point, and that's one of the things I blamed the League of Women Voters for; they gave ground on that in the early days, I think to the detriment of the broadcast, because you've seen it happen: If you ask me something I don't want to talk about, I'll give you lip service up to the first thirty seconds, and then try to take you off. If you're not sharp enough to say, “But, that isn't what I asked you,” you can score points. That's what Bobby Kennedy was onto right away, in that first debate; or, not in that debate, but in the preparation for it. They had spotted that as a weakness in the format, and were taking advantage of it, very effectively.

So, what would be your idea of the most fair kind of setting for people to have access to?