Definition

A journalist tasked with controlling candidates who won't follow rules, resulting in moderators being blamed for candidates' rudeness by that candidate's supporters.

Example Usage

The moderator asked a softball question and was still accused of bias by everyone watching on cable news.

Origin

From Latin 'moderator,' one who restrains or regulates.

Fun Fact

Moderators are simultaneously praised as heroes and condemned as tyrants depending entirely on which candidate your personal beliefs favor.

Source: Electoral process terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

runoff

The do-over election held when no candidate achieves the required majority in the first round, forcing the top contenders into sudden-death overtime. It's democracy's version of "best two out of three," typically featuring just the top two vote-getters in a head-to-head showdown. Also the hydrological term for water that doesn't soak in, but the political usage is far more dramatic.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Beginner

seats

In politics, the coveted chairs of power representing electoral districts or legislative positions that politicians desperately want to warm with their ambitions. Each seat equals one voting member in a legislative body, making them the ultimate game of musical chairs where losing means unemployment. The currency of democratic representation and gerrymandering arguments.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Advanced

pairing

An arrangement where two legislators on opposite sides of an issue agree to abstain from voting, canceling each other out, allowing one or both to miss the vote. It's the gentleman's agreement of parliamentary procedure.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Intermediate

Polling Error

The margin between what polls predicted and what actually happened—usually blamed on pollsters rather than on the people who commissioned the polls or acted on them.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Beginner

swing district

An electoral constituency where neither major party has a reliable advantage, making outcomes unpredictable and campaigns expensive. Where democracy actually functions and politicians have to work for votes instead of coasting on partisan loyalty.

🏛️ Government / Politics
Beginner

red meat

Political rhetoric designed to excite and energize a party's base supporters, typically involving emotional appeals, partisan attacks, or extreme positions. The junk food of political discourse—satisfying to the faithful but nutritionally void.

🏛️ Government / Politics

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