What should the debate be about?

Pick a debate, any debate, what questions should be asked?

If they ask policy questions, the answers will likely be what they have regurgitated for the last year and in some cases 2years or longer.  What do we gain?  Will the winner be who makes the biggest gaffe?  The most laughs garnered at the expense of another?  Or should we ask for more?  Would hard questions be unfair as they require thought?  Finally should the questions be released prior to the debates so we don't get canned prepared comments which likely are not their real position.

Maybe:

What is the purpose of government? Is government a tool to achieve your goals, or are there limits to what it can and should try to do?  If the answer is create jobs, how does government create jobs? 

Is government the arbitrator, teacher or enforcer of moral values?  Different people have different  values?  Should the government take a stand, isn't a minorities rights denied?  Or should the government be neutral?

Can you cut the size and cost of government without offending anyone or cutting programs that have popular support?  Like SS or MEdicare, medicaid.  The GOP talks about balancing the budget and reducing our ruinous $18.3 trillion national debt, but they seldom say how. Too often they simply pretend that you can balance the budget through economic growth or by trimming “fraud, waste, and abuse.”  The Dem's are not interested in balancing a budget other than raising taxes however with every increase in taxes comes more spending.  

Are you pro-business, pro-jobs, or pro-market?  How does your position conflict with the other positions?    Milton Friedman once said, “Business corporations in general are not defenders of free enterprise. On the contrary, they are one of the chief sources of danger.”  If your pro business how are jobs affected as Business, when allowed follows the least cost route to profitability.  Jobs sent overseas is a perfect example.  Pro jobs has an impact on pro business as pro jobs impacts the free market as goods from overseas may be excluded or tariffed.

Should we have free trade agreements?  NAFTA as well as Agreements with China have proven free trade agreements are not in the best interest of the middle class.  Are the agreements in the best interest of the country? 

How would you balance civil liberties with the War on Terror? There is always a tension between keeping us safe and respecting our liberties. Is NSA spying, the personal intrusive pat downs at airports while ignoring profiling acceptable?  How should changes to the system be made to keep people safe while respecting our personal rights?

What is your concept of federalism?  Should states be allowed to not enforce Federal Law?  POT in Colorado for example.  Should the Federal Government be allowed to ignore enforcement of laws?  Illegal immigration is the poster child for ignoring a law.  Should federal action override state decisions?    Do states, in fact, have rights, or do they only have powers, while citizens have rights? Are there limits on what states can do? Are there limits on what the federal government can require states to do?  Should the EPA or any regulatory agency be allowed to establish regulations, defacto law when they are not the law making body of our government?  Should states have the right to establish laws that exclude them from EPA regulations or banking regulations as they are not laws written by our lawmakers?  Should the IRS be able to interpret law, the ACA and

Should America have an open border as we have today?  What's the impact to the American people?  What's the impact to the American worker?  Should there be a path to amnesty to those that have broken our laws?  Should citizenship be given to children of illegals?  

There are so may meaningful questions that could be asked however we will get few questions that we don't already know the answers.