Who started the don't address the question just say what I want, at debates?

[Fuzz]

It's annoying as hell and I don't remember it ever being as blatant. Romney even said something like you ask the question and I'll answer how I like Tuesday.

[chollybocker]

1. Reagan?

[Fuzz]

4. Does it go back that far? I remember Palin now that others have mentioned it, but copying her?

They that stupid?

Edit: Don't answer that, sorry, dumb question.

[chollybocker]

9. Reagan was an actor by trade.

He had Bircher writers feeding him his lines, and he rarely went off script. The questions were irrelevent; his performance was everything. That's why they worship him now; he was a master debater, so to speak.

[noiretextatique]

5. yep...eom

[Ineeda]

2. The queen of Wasila did.

She even told the moderator that she didn't want to answer specific questions and that she'd talk about whatever she wanted.

[Tx4obama]

3. Palin said something similar. n/t

[gratuitous]

6. I think Palin was the most notable practitioner

Before the debate with Biden, she even announced that she was going to say whatever she wanted during her allotted time, regardless of the question asked. Sadly, the "moderators" at these "debates" are about as useful as screen doors on submarines, and none of them ever hold the participants to anything like the standard rules of a debate. Just once, I'd like to see one of these showboats be warned once about a non-responsive answer, followed by a cutting of their microphone. Talk all you want, Mr. or Ms. Candidate, but you won't be heard on anything but the substance of the issues.

Either that, or tape the proceedings, and when someone goes toddling off on their own agenda, the picture and sound go off replaced by a placard that says "The Candidate Refused to Address the Question" for the duration of their time. I think that would end this regrettable practice very quickly.

[SoCalDem]

7. For a long time, debates were the purview of the League of Women Voters

They ran them, and even though most of those women may have been republican, they were "real" debates, and had strict rules. Of course they were as exciting as watching paint dry, so they were eventually wrested away from the LGWV..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_debates

Debate sponsorship

Control of the presidential debates has been a ground of struggle for more than two decades. The role was filled by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters (LWV) civic organization in 1976, 1980 and 1984. In 1987, the LWV withdrew from debate sponsorship, in protest of the major party candidates attempting to dictate nearly every aspect of how the debates were conducted. On October 2, 1988, the LWV's 14 trustees voted unanimously to pull out of the debates, and on October 3 they issued a dramatic press release:

The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates...because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.

The same year the two major political parties assumed control of organizing presidential debates through the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). The commission has been headed since its inception by former chairs of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee.

Some have criticized the exclusion of third party and independent candidates as well as the parallel interview format as a minimum of getting 15% in opinion polls is required to be invited. In 2004, the Citizens' Debate Commission (CDC) was formed with the stated mission of returning control of the debates to an independent nonpartisan body rather than a bipartisan

[Selatius]

8. When the League of Women Voters left hosting the debates out of sheer disgust, it went downhill fast

They left on October 2nd, 1988, because both parties were trying to impose restrictions of all kinds on the questions and topics that could be raised at the debates. After a while, the League issued a press release condemning both parties for their stupidity and withdrew from the whole debate process entirely.

This comes from the press release:

The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates...because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election_debates#Debate_sponsorship

[louslobbs]

10. The wicked witch of the sixth largest city in Alaska.? n/t

Lou

[Odin2005]

11. Chimpy.

[dimbear]

12. I could narrow it down a bit. Either Adam or Eve. n/t