My Washington Post colleague Margaret Sullivan’s exhortation for better campaign coverage (“the mission of pre-election coverage should not be to determine who’s going to win, but to respond intelligently to what voters want and need to know”) should be studied by media and media consumers alike.
The yearning for more focus on substance and on presidential preparedness is one reason I've begun a series on pure policy questions directed at prominent Democrats. (And more are on the way!).
However, the responsibility for more enlightening and civil campaigns rests in large part with the candidates. Let me suggest five ways they can encourage better coverage and resist playing into the horse-race mentality.