■美國首場總統候選人辯論一片混亂，委員會需要考慮制訂全新規則保證後續辯論順利進行。 資料圖片【原文】下文摘錄自香港《文匯報》10月2日報道：
美國9月29日舉行首場總統候選人辯論（presidential debate），場面一片混亂（chaotic），幾乎毫無秩序。隨着下兩場大選辯論即將展開，總統選舉辯論委員會（Commission on Presidential Debates）發表聲明，表示正考慮制訂全新規則，保證後續辯論有序進行，避免淪為罵戰。
委員會在1988年開始負責統籌電視辯論。委員會在聲明中稱，首場辯論清晰表明，委員會需在現有規則上添加新例，讓辯論更有秩序，新規則經審慎商議（deliberation）後將在短期內公布。委員會又感謝首場辯論的主持人華萊士（Chris Wallace），稱他展現出專業精神（professionalism）。
消息人士透露，新規或為候選人設定發言時間限制，避免有人壟斷（dominate）發言；主持人亦可能獲準備「開關掣」，讓主持人有權在一方發言時，隨時關掉另一方的咪高峰，避免發言被頻繁打斷（interrupt）；辯論同時可能為插嘴行為設立懲罰機制，一旦有人打斷別人發言，便會被減少發言時間。據報在各項行為中，委員會最重視「疊聲」問題，估計會優先處理候選人以咪高峰發言的機會。
市場調查公司尼爾森（Nielsen）統計，全美約有7,310萬民眾在周二（29日）收看電視辯論直播，較2016年首場辯論的8,400萬減少13%，最多人通過霍士新聞台（Fox News）觀看辯論，佔近1,800萬。
華萊士在首場辯論中，被兩名候選人合共打斷發言90次。他接受《紐約時報》（The New York Times）訪問時，承認從沒料到辯論失控，自己也沒做好準備，對辯論情況感到難過。華萊士稱不希望辯論被反覆打斷，或有候選人拒絕回答提問，不過他認為即使關掉特朗普的咪高峰，由於辯論雙方距離不遠，特朗普依然能提高音量干擾發言。
拜登（Joe Biden）競選團隊早前批評辯論是「美國之恥」，呼籲大選辯論委員會調整規則，讓辯論順利進行。特朗普競選團隊則質疑華萊士辯論當晚偏向（preference）拜登，強調辯論是體現「自由交流意見」，批評委員會添加新規是「在比賽中途改變規則」，只反映有人在首輪辯論一敗塗地。不過雙方團隊都表示，兩名候選人將繼續參加其後的辯論。
消息指，總統選舉辯論委員會研究修改規則時，將不會跟兩名候選人的競選團隊討論，直至有結果後才會向雙方公布。
U.S. curbs ferocious debates by cutting off mics and penalizing interruptions
【譯文】The first U.S. presidential debate on 29th September had deteriorated into pure chaos without any order. Since the next two rounds of debates were about to begin, the Commission on Presidential Debates issued a statement saying that it was considering format changes such that the remaining debates could be delivered in an orderly but not chaotic manner.
The Commission began to organize the first televised presidential debate in 1988. It said in the statement that the first presidential debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion, and the new set of rules would be announced shortly after careful deliberations. The Commission also thanked the host Chris Wallace for the professionalism he brought to the first debate.
A source close to the Commission said that it was considering setting time limit for candidates to avoid dominating the speech, and authorizing the host with the ability to cut off a candidate's microphone such that the speech of the opponent would not be frequently interrupted. Also, a punishment mechanism might be set up with a timed penalty for candidates who failed to abide by the rules. Among the acts, it was said that the Commission attached the greatest importance to the issue of "overlapping" of voices, and candidates' opportunities to speak by microphone would be handled with priority.
According to the market research company Nielsen, about 73.1 million people watched Tuesday night's presidential debate on TV, a decrease of 13% of viewership from 84 million viewers for the first presidential debate of the 2016 election cycle; while nearly 18 million people watched the debate through Fox News.
Wallace was interrupted 90 times by the two candidates in the first debate. In an interview with The New York Times, Wallace admitted that he felt sad failing to seize control of the debate and he was not well prepared for those expected circumstances. Wallace did not want the debate to be repeatedly interrupted, or that some candidates refused to answer questions, but he added that even if Trump's microphone was turned off, he could still interrupt and derail the debate by increasing the volume of his voice given the close distance with his opponent.
The Joe Biden's campaign criticized earlier the first debate as "a shame of the country", calling for an adjustment of rules by the Commission to help ensure a smooth running of the remaining debates.
On the other hand, the Trump's campaign questioned Wallace's preference for Biden on the night of the debate and described the chaotic scenes as a "free exchange of ideas", criticizing the Commission's addition of new rules as "changing the rules in the middle of the game," which only reflected someone's failure in the first round of the debate. Yet, both teams said that the two candidates would continue to participate in the subsequent debates.
It was said that the Commission would not discuss with the election campaign staff members of both candidates when formulating new regulations for the debate, rather, it would directly announce the details until the outcome was ready.■龐嘉儀
Q&A
1. 首場美國總統選舉辯論於何年舉行？
2. 承上題，首場辯論的總統候選人分別是誰？
3. 創歷史紀錄、有超過8,400萬人觀看的2016年總統辯論的候選人分別是誰？
4. 在總統選舉辯論委員會成立前，美國總統選舉辯論曾由哪個團體主辦？
Answer
1. 1960年
2. 肯尼迪 （John F. Kennedy） 與尼克松 （Richard Nixon）
3. 特朗普與希拉里 （Hillary Clinton）
4. 美國女性選民聯盟 （League of Women Voters of the United States）