The presidential debates are not as much of a risk to the candidates as most of us may think. Many of us think that the candidates can be questioned "on any subject matter", this simply isn't the case and is laughable. The debates are profoundly undemocratic. What most people don't know is that the debates are organized by a "private corporation. That corporation is The Commission on Presidential Debates, and it was was established by the Republican and Democratic National Committees in 1986 and was designed to serve only their interests and no other. Before the debates take place, the two-party organizations jointly draft debate "contracts" which define exactly what will happen during the "debate". This includes screening which topics will be discussed, who can attend the debates, who can ask questions, how long each candidate will have to answer and that there will be no candidate-to-candidate questions, no rebuttals and no follow-up questions.

The CPD has also set criteria that deliberately excludes third-party candidates from taking part. To join the debate, a third-party candidate must be able to demonstrate that they expect to receive 15% of the public vote.

The polls used to determine expected support are not required to list candidates other than those from the two main parties. This stage management does not lead to a debate but instead a glorified press conference that draws ratings for the channels that broadcast them.