Greetings. It's 32 pages long -- an almost 240K PDF file. It covers everything from makeup artists, to "don't you dare touch me!" and "no cutaway shots" behavior rules.

It's the incredible, amazing, and yes, even bizarre 2004 Presidential Debate Agreement (actually a signed contract).

It appears that nearly every conceivable possibility has been covered by this hefty document, except perhaps the landing of an alien spacecraft outside of the auditorium.

To say that these guys want to maintain control over all aspects of the debates would be a gross understatement.

If we could get this level of detailed attention directed towards real world problems, perhaps my morbid little counter might stop incrementing so rapidly, and could finally stop completely.

Hope springs eternal.

--Lauren--