 was mostly to explain and enforce the ground rules and then keep the proceedings moving. They write, by the 1980s, the panel format was in trouble. Critics said it resembled a joint press conference more than an actual debate and that journalist panels took too much attention away from the candidates. The League of Women Voters, which had organized the 76, 80, and 84 debates, threw in the towel, leaving the job to the then newly created Commission on Presidential Debates.