I have the most evil idea for Primary-debates: Flip-charts and marker-pens.
"Dear candidate, here's your question. Please write the answer on the board: ..."
The candidate can drone on as much he wants. He can complain about the liberal media, he can complain about gotcha-questions, about this or that, he can attack contenders all night long ...
But when he's asked to actually write his proposal down ...
When he's asked to actually give us the numbers and write them down and see if they add up ...
"Mr. Trump, how much will your wall cost? Please write it down."
"How much will it cost to deport 11 million illegal immigrants? Please write it down. What will the economic effects be? Who will gain or lose how much? Please write it down."
"What is your tax-proposal? Please write it down. By how many billions will that tax-cut reduce the tax-revenue of the government? Please write it down. How many billions of budget-cuts do you propose and where? Please write it down. By how many percent would the economy have to grow to generate enough tax-revenue for a balanced budget? Please write it down."
All the outrage, all the drama, all the grandstanding... for nought. People will look at their proposals in writing and see who actually has something of substance to offer and whose numbers actually add up.
Just imagine Trump's sales-pitch for his immigration-policy:
A white page with the words "WALL, HUGE DEAL, 11 MILLION!!!" written on it. (In capital letters and underlined thrice.)
Or imagine Ben Carson:
"If you have an abortion, you are just like a Nazi." - "Could you please write that down?" - "I ..." - "Nonono, write that down." - "I ... It no longer makes sense if I don't say it in a soothing, sensible voice."