The candidates enter two soundproof rooms simultaneous with nothing more than blank paper and a pen. Cameras record every moment from entry to exit. A panel of journalists selected by their peers asks questions voted on by the public. The candidates don’t know which questions are coming. The same people ask the same questions of each candidate. A clock starts running at the end of the question. The candidate has whatever amount of time – say 5 minutes – to say anything he or she chooses. At the end of the time, the cameras stop recording. Next question.

Third party candidates could go through the same process. Voters could compare Gary Johnson or Jill Stein to Obama and Romney, if we so choose. Candidates and other citizens could post continuations, clarifications, elaborations, and counter-points on their own websites at their own expense. Granted, this would be ripe for parody, but that might get people more interested in the election.