Neil Cavuto talks Tuesday's GOP presidential debate on FBN

Fox Business Network Tuesday night takes center stage at the GOP debate almost as much as the candidates themselves: An 8-year-old network still seeking traction in a crowded TV world will instantly have that, as millions tune in for what has become, against all odds, the biggest show on earth.

There will be just two moderators for FBN (the 9 p.m. debate is co-sponsored by the Wall Street Journal): Fox News veteran Neil Cavuto (of "Your World")  and former CNBC star Maria Bartiromo, now with FBN. The expectations, doubts and questions these two face can be summed up as simply as this: Another CNBC debacle?

The Oct. 28 debate on CNBC accomplished the unimaginable by turning the debate into a debate about CNBC. That's never exactly happened in the long history of televised debates, whereby the carriage network became the focus as opposed to the candidates themselves.

Reason: An unusually aggressive and argumentative approach by moderators that allowed candidates to extemporaneously craft anti-media attacks. Even while in progress the debate turned into a debate about CNBC.

The Republican National Committee subsequently pulled the plug on future debates on NBC platforms, although RNC chairman Reince Priebus told Matt Lauer on Monday's "Today Show" that discussions with NBC remain on-going.

So what is the proper deportment of a commentator? What are appropriate questions versus inappropriate ones? Argumentative? Or respectful? I put some of these to Cavuto -- a Westbury native, by the way -- last week. Here's an edited version of our conversation: 

You've really only got two hours and a lot of people onstage to make their case. How is that possible in a brief two-hour window? [I spoke with Cavuto before FBN announced that lower-polling candidates, including Mike Huckabee and Chris Christie would be required to participate in a separate debate, and not the main one in primetime]:

"You need those couple of hours to let it breathe, and let the candidates state their case, which is, 'Why would any one of them make a good president.' It sounds simplistic, but sometimes that gets lost in the sauce.These guys are showcasing for the most powerful job on earth, and that's lost in the process. Part of the job is gleaning from them why they are the person for the job. The more we get it back to them, the less it becomes about us."

What are the rules?

"The subject is the economy, money issues. We've stated we want to give them time so they have a 90-second response, and in the follow up with candidates, they get 60 seconds to respond. It's a little bit more breathing room, where they are not rushed to state their case."

What's your opener?

"Well, I won't tell you, but we will stick to the bread and butter issues that define us. As business journalists, for as long as I've been around, we're considered the bastard stepchildren, and considered boring. But I always think the fault is ours -- because we've made it boring. [But] we don't distinguish between the two -- news and business -- because we think they're interrelated. They're the dominant issues [finance, business and economy] on voters' minds right now."

What did go wrong at the CNBC debate -- or should I put this another way: Did you think the CNBC debate was the debacle everyone else made it out to be?

"Not everything was wrong. There were some good, solid questions. The issue is that maybe sometimes the moderators think it's about them. I know I'd take that with a grain of salt coming from a guy who wears makeup and gets in front of a camera for a living, but it really isn't about us. We look better the less we try to make ourselves look good. I like to remind people that a debate is not like an interview. For one thing, you're interviewing many people simultaneously and have others [to get responses from]. But the point is to keep it moving and and topical and engaging. There is a tendency to make it about a gotcha question or an embarrassing question, but nine times out of 10 you'll generate more news and interest by the news you generate. The most memorable moments are those answers from the candidate when they say something genuine. You never remember the guy [moderator] who asked Reagan how old he was. You remember what Reagan said. [Reagan/Mondale debate; 1984; Henry "Hank" Trewhitt of the Baltimore Sun asked Reagan whether there were any concerns about age; Reagan: 'I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."]

What is the proper disposition of the moderator?

"You have to have a healthy respect for the process -- these are big events and I'm not saying this will turn people's minds, but someone [at either debate] will be a nominee for president. We as journalists all enter with our own bias, and that's fine, but I think when it can slip into dangerous territory is when you let that dictate the question...You leave little wiggle room for them to clarify and little for yourself to justify. The tone should be respectful, curious, inquisitive. Get things across, but not in a combative way. Raise doubt in a measured way and give the respondent time to respond. I think it's as simple as that."