It was clear from the outset that the town hall debate would be different from previous presidential debates. In her opening remarks, Carole Simpson prognosticated that “tonight’s program is unlike any presidential debate in history-we’re making history her from re now, and it’s pretty exiting.” Questions from the citizens that evening were noteworthy, partly because for the first time citizens insisted that the candidates focus on substantive issues. One of the first questioners complained, “The amount of time the candidates have spent in this campaign trashing their opponent’s character and their programs is depressingly large. Why can’t your discussions and proposals reflect the genuine complexity and the difficulty of the issues to try to build a consensus around the best aspects of all proposals?” The very next questioner asked, “Can we focus on the issue and not the personalities and the mud?”