3 Girls, 1 Petition, and a Push for a Woman to Moderate a Presidential Debate

We’re super proud of New Jersey teens Emma Axelrod, Sammi Siegel and Elena Tsemberis. When these savvy girls learned that a woman had not moderated a presidential debate since 1992, they decided to do something about it.

So they started collecting signatures through Change.org. Yesterday, they tried to present those signatures — 170,000 of them! — to the Commission on Presidential Debates, asking that a woman moderate one of the three planned presidential debates between President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Although the Committee would not accept their petition, their project has definitely brought attention to an amazing disparity in American politics:

“Presidential debate moderators have a lot power when it comes to helping the American public to better understand candidates,” the teens explained on Change.org. “Being a moderator is a tough job; the moderator must keep debate flowing, make sure candidates stay focused on relevant topics, and maintain an unbiased stance. Men are no more capable of performing these tasks than women — but for the last two decades, only men have been given the job. Women and men will never be truly equal in our country until they’re one and the same in positions of power and both visible in politics.”

See these smart girls in action on Current TV.  Who would you pick to moderate the debates?