Debate update

Seven weeks ago I imagined that North Carolina and BlueNC would have broken exciting new ground by now. We were going to transform public engagement in statewide campaigns so that any citizen in North Carolina could ask any candidate the questions that matter most.

As some of you will remember, I invited both Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue to join us for the first-ever virtual gubernatorial debate, and both candidates enthusiastically agreed. All we needed to do was find an hour over the course of two months where they would both be available at the same time. I regret to report that no such hour has been found.

I've gone back and forth between the campaigns four or five times, asking for dates and options. The process has been orderly but slow, reflecting the reality of all of our busy schedules. One candidate could be here by 7 o'clock, but the other couldn't come until 7:45. One could do Sunday night, the other could only do Saturday morning. You get the picture. These folks are tightly booked in a race to lead one of the fastest-growing states in the country. And finding time for an audience with a few thousand bloggers and lurkers isn't at the top of anyone's list.

Which brings me to Plan B.

In honor of Sunshine Week and in the spirit of transparency, I'm moving the entire scheduling and logistics discussion out into the public view. If it ends up just being me talking to myself, so be it. Without further delay, here's the plan.

I invite the Moore and Perdue campaigns to talk directly with one another to find a time and a date where they can both participate. What we need is one hour. On the BlueNC end, we'll find a way to make it work no matter when they can meet. We have a handful of front-pagers, so even if one of us is out of town, others can fill the host/moderation duties.

If the campaigns can't find that hour, I invite each to let me know if and when they would like to have their own individual live-blogging session. Bev Perdue visited with us awhile ago, and we welcome her return. We haven't had Richard Moore here yet, and I'm eager to get him involved in the online world.

If the campaigns can't find a date before April 17th, we will host the virtual debate as a three-day event during the weekend of April 18 - 20, with or without them. We'll publicize the debate statewide and invite citizens to post questions online at their leisure. Betsy and I will make sure things are kept clean and respectful. Candidates and/or their campaign staffers will be free to respond to citizen question ... or not.

We know both campaigns keep an eye on BlueNC from time to time. We also know both are steadily improving their online strategies. This is good. But the next step of moving toward transparent interaction can be a frightening one. Especially when there's no high-profile moderator to weed out the toughest questions.

While it would be neat to bring innovation to electoral politics in North Carolina, the real motivation behind this is engagement. I talk to people all over the state who are eager to participate and to have their voices heard - but there's no easy way for that to happen. We know big corporations get heard. We know special interests get heard. We know big donors get heard. And it's about time the rest of us have a seat at the table.

Please join me in supporting both campaigns as they consider whether to join the discussion and the debate. Use your comments below to encourage them to post their own thoughts and ideas right here in the public view.

An old friend of mine once told me he only knew how to play poker one way: with all his cards face-up on the table. That goes for me, too.