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Candy Crowley to defy debate contract

In an interview with CNN this afternoon, Candy Crowley reiterated that, like past town-hall debate moderators, she intends to do more than just hold the microphone at tonight's debate in Hempstead, N.Y. -- an intention that has caused concern for both campaigns.

"They will call on 'Alice,' and 'Alice' will stand up and ask a question. Both candidates will answer. Then there's time for a follow-up question, facilitating a discussion, whatever you want to call it," Crowley said. "So if Alice asks oranges, and someone answers apples, there's the time to go, 'But Alice asked oranges? What's the answer to that?" Or, 'Well, you say this, but what about that?'"

(Also on POLITICO: 5 things to watch at the debate)

Crowley's vision of her role at tonight's debate is in keeping with past town hall debates, but it would defy the expectations agreed to by both campaigns in the co-signed memorandum of understanding, obtained and released yesterday by Time's Mark Halperin. From section 7, part (c), sub-part (iv) (italics mine):

7. Additional Rules Apllicable to the October 16 Debate... (c) With respect to all questions... (iv) 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 2 minute response period.

There is hardly any gray area here. Crowley is expected to do nothing except to acknowledge questioners, enforce the time limits, and invite candidate comments. Many people -- especially journalists -- would and have objected to that, but that's the agreement.

(See also: Full text of the presidential debate contract)

Of course, Crowley could choose to go rogue and (gasp!) press a candidate on specifics. She might be criticized (or, just as likely, commended) after the fact, but no one's going to run in from the wings and take the mic from her hands. But if you're wondering what Crowley is technically expected to do tonight, beyond holding the microphone, taking questions, and keeping time... the answer is: nothing.

So when Crowley goes on CNN and says:

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?’

Or:

The nice thing will be, if the town hall person asks about apples, and they answer oranges, I get to say, ‘Wait a second, the question was about apples — let’s talk about that.'

......you can see why it concerns the campaigns. As when she told POLITICO, "I’m not a fly on the wall... I’m going to react organically to what’s happening."

Janet Brown, the executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, declined to comment on the controversy surrounding Crowley's role, but Commission co-chairman Mike Curry yesterday cautioned against "reinterpretation from the moderator."

(Also on POLITICO: Carole Simpson hopes Crowley follows up)

Asked on CNN today how she was responding to the controversy surrounding her role tonight, Crowley said: "We are so close to an election, and there are people around these two men that push every button they can to try to get an advantage. I understand the stakes are enormous. This is what campaigns do, they push and shove and pull, and moderators become a part of that evermore in society over the past election cycles. It's just a part of it. But in the end, you'll look at these debates as a continuum, and people can judge all the debates the way they want in the end."

When the anchor made a joke about the pressure Crowley must be feeling, she responded, "No pressure here."