2016 presidential debate moderators announced

The commission on presidential debates today announced the moderators for the 2016 presidential and vice presidential debates.

The selections offer us one of the most diverse sets of debate moderators that we’ve ever seen, but also close out with a debate that’s going to be solo moderated by a Fox News anchor — raising the specter of the kind of partisan and ideological slant generally avoided in this kind of situation.

The first presidential debate will be on September 26, moderated by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt.

Next up is the vice presidential debate, moderated by CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano on October 4.

Five days later, on October 5, comes the second presidential debate, which will take a town hall format. The moderators will be CNN’s Anderson Cooper, joined by ABC News national security correspondent Martha Raddatz. Raddatz isn’t normally deeply involved in political coverage, but she had a bit of a star turn in a December Democratic debate when she mixed it up with Hillary Clinton.

Last, but by no means least, Fox News’ Chris Wallace will moderate the third presidential debate on Wednesday, October 19. Wallace is one of the most well-respected journalists on the Fox staff — it’s not like they are having Sean Hannity moderate — but he is definitely a Fox News anchor. The network has been pretty all-in for Trump, so it’s likely the Clinton team is not thrilled about this one.