Letter of the Day: Debate protocol

Debate protocol

EDITOR: Wednesday's debate was a debacle. Jim Lehrer should have halted the debate the first time a candidate spoke out of turn. I want him to have said something like: "The United States operates on the principle of law. Anyone who becomes president will need to operate within the law of the land. We may as well practice by operating within the rules of the debate."

There is tremendous power in having the last word. That is why debate protocol divides that privilege evenly between the participants. The last word belongs to the person whose turn it is, not to the biggest schoolyard bully who grabs it. I hope my fellow citizens will recognize and beware of such behavior in our leadership.

MARY BLOM

Sebastopol