Just curious: how is the order of the lecterns determined?

[question everything]

I think that Mike Gravel, for example, was at the end during both debates..

[Bucky]

1. I think in the first debate they said it was random. Last night they dropped the pretense

Centering the big three and sidelining Kooch and Gravel was not an accident.

[dragonlady]

5. That makes for more interesting camera angles

If Obama is speaking, for instance, you can see how Clinton and Edwards are reacting because they're all in the shot together.

[radfringe]

2. they play music

the candidates walk around the lecterns, when the music stops they run to a lectern...


but seriously, if it's not something the campaign works out before hand, then it's probably by drawing lots... most likely it's worked out ahead of time by the individual campaigns..

[question everything]

4. Makes sense

Obama is tall and we know that short candidates don't do well standing next to tall ones - what can I say? This is our history. But when it is Clinton standing next to Obama she is not handicapped for that.

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. whoever has the most ovaries gets to be in the middle

Clinton barely beat out Dodd, btw.

:)

[napi21]

6. IF I had to guess, they positioned them according to the polls.

Wether that makes sense or not, I don't know. The one thing I wish they would add is a split screen where you could have the speaker centered in one screen and a shot of the rest of the candidates in the other. I think you can learn quite a bit by watching the reactions of the other candidates to what each speaker is saying, or doing. It's easy to spot disinterest, disgust, aggrivation, boredom, or anger.

[question everything]

7. Looking at one's watch (papa Bush) or rolling eyes (Gore?) (nt)

[napi21]

8. Yes of course, but I caught a small glimpse of a few reaction

when they did the long shot from the side showing all the candidates. I thought they were all trying NOT TO REACT but you could see a few moves of their head and an occasional grimace when Gravel was shouting, and a few other frowns by Edwards etc. They didn't do nearly enough shots like that to suit me, but I'm glad there were at least some.