The debate has now moved to a format in which the various candidates ask each other questions. And even as their campaigns spent days constructing these questions to score political points and destablize their opponents, the questions and resulting discussions are far more substantive and enlightening than anything Russert and Williams have elicited. Indeed, at the close of a very good debate bewteen Edwards and Obama on Iraq, Williams interrupts to say “having come close to settling that, let’s move on to…”

Thanks, Brian. Because we wouldn’t want to actually settle the policy differences between the candidates.

Ezra Klein is a former Prospect writer and current editor-in-chief at Vox. His work has appeared in the LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review. He’s been a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and more.