As we near the much-anticipated debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, a much-discussed question has arisen about the format of this presidential pastime (fanned largely by Trump and his supporters): do we even need moderators?

The role of moderators in debates has shifted from election year to election year, and even from debate to debate. Some moderators approach the challenge with well-researched and prepared to push back against the candidate’s claims. Others prefer a more hands-off approach that requires the other candidate to challenge whatever comes from the opposing side.

Earlier this month, Fox’s Chris Wallace invited serious debate about the debates, telling Howard Kurtz he doesn’t believe it’s his job to be a “truth squad.” But in a year where one of the candidates tells a lie every five minutes, isn’t the moderator’s job to ask the tough questions and to push back on answers that don’t measure up?

In light of this, we’ve compiled the best and worst debate (and town hall) moderators since 2012.

BEST

Megyn Kelly (2015)

Megyn Kelly’s performance in the first GOP debate of the 2016 election is the stuff of legend. Right out of the gate in her question to Donald Trump, Kelly asked a pointed, direct, and deeply necessary question about the candidate’s use of derogatory words to attack women. 

"You've called women you don't like, 'fat pigs,' 'dogs,' 'slobs,' and 'disgusting animals,'" Kelly began before she received her first lie of the evening.

"Only Rosie O'Donnell," Trump replied.

“No, it wasn’t,” Kelly pushed back.

That exchange launched an infamous feud between Kelly and Trump, who bashed the Fox News host in subsequent interviews and tweets, calling her a “bimbo” and a “lightweight,” and saying she "had blood coming out of her whatever." But that didn’t stop Kelly from returning to moderate a second GOP debate, where she continued asking tough questions and pressing candidates on specifics—even as Trump refused to participate due to her presence. 

Some people just can’t handle the truth.

Anderson Cooper (2015)

It’s not surprising that CNN’s Anderson Cooper was named a moderator for the general election debates, considering the high marks he earned during the 2015’s CNN Democratic debate.

The consensus among critics was that Cooper asked thoughtful, well-researched questions and—perhaps, most importantly—tough follow-up questions.

“As a congressman, you voted against the Iraq War. You voted against the Gulf War. You're just talking about Syria. But under what circumstances would a President Sanders actually use force?” Cooper asked Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders attempted to sidestep the question, responding instead to a different topic altogether.

“Sen. Sanders, you didn't answer the question,” Cooper said. “Under what circumstances would you actually use force?”

Cooper also pressed Clinton on her record, pointedly asking, “Will you say anything to get elected?”

Clinton provided a vague answer about consistency, but Cooper wasn’t having it. “Secretary Clinton, though, with all due respect, the question is really about political expediency,” he replied. Because a moderator’s job is to keep the candidates honest. It just is.

Wolf Blitzer (2012)

In 2012, Wolf Blitzer seriously set the bar for taking down grandstanding politicians. When then-Republican candidate Newt Gingrich had to sidestep a statement he made regarding rival Mitt Romney’s finances by attacking the legitimacy of the question, all signs pointed to a Blitzer defeat.

But the CNN anchor stood his ground hitting Gingrich with this incredible exchange:

Blitzer: But, Mr. Speaker, you made an issue of this, this week, when you said that, "He lives in a world of Swiss bank and Cayman Island bank accounts."  I didn't say that.  You did.

Gingrich: I did. And I'm perfectly happy to say that on an interview on some TV show.  But this is a national debate, where you have a chance to get the four of us to talk about a whole range of issues.

Blitzer: But if you make a serious accusation against Governor Romney like that, you need to explain that. 

Seriously, bravo to Blitzer for that comeback.

Chris Mathews (2016)

Chris Mathews’ MSNBC town hall with Donald Trump produced one of the most unreal moments of this campaign. Pressing Trump to explain his position on abortion, Mathews asked, “what crime is it?”

As Trump tried to dance around the question, Mathews told the then-candidate he would not be able to “dodge” the question:

Matthews: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle?

Trump:  The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.

Matthews: For the woman?

Trump:  Yes, there has to be some form.

Trump eventually reversed his position five times over the next three days, but that exchange sticks out as one of the most controversial—and well pressed—moments in the campaign.

WORST

Becky Quick (2015)

The CNBC GOP debate last October received universal condemnation from political journalists, and for good reason: the questions were poorly researched and poorly constructed, and the moderators lacked the information necessary to ask substantial follow-ups. But one of the lowest moments of the debate happened when moderator Becky Quick attempted to get Donald Trump to bad-mouth Mark Zuckerberg.

“You have been very critical of Mr. Zuckerberg, of Facebook," Quick began.

“I have not been at all critical of him,” Trump interrupted.

“Where did I read this and come up with this then?” Quick asked.

“… I don’t know. You people write this stuff,” Trump replied.

Ooof. Word to the wise: Source. Everything. Listen to Megyn Kelly:

Carl Quintanilla (2015)

Along with colleague Becky Quick, moderator Carl Quintanilla also did an abysmal job of keeping the candidates in check during the CNBC GOP debate. The biggest display was after Quintanilla asked Sen. Ted Cruz a legitimate question about the national debt, then failed to steer Cruz to actually answer the question.

"This is not a cage match," Cruz said, to loud applause. "Look at the questions: 'Donald Trump, are you a comic book villain?' 'Ben Carson, can you do math?' 'John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?' 'Marco Rubio, why don't you resign?' 'Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?' How about talking about the substantive issues people care about?”

Quintanilla tried to steer the conversation back, but by that point, he had lost the audience entirely.

Candy Crowley (2012)

Crowley sparked outrage in 2012 by opting to fact-check the candidates in real time during a 2012 town hall. But the issue wasn’t so much that Crowley kept the candidates honest, it was that at one point, Crowley herself was wrong.

The issue was over how long to took President Obama to call the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya an “act of terror.” Crowley jumped in to defend the president:

“He did call it an ‘act of terror,’” Crowley stammered, eventually noting Romney was correct about the length of time it took for the real narrative to unfold. But Obama had already won that round, and Romney quickly deflated after Crowley’s interjection.

A pointed reminder that while pushing back on candidates is necessary, it’s more necessary to know what you’re talking about.

Matt Lauer (2016)

Today’s Matt Lauer was pulverized by the press after his abysmal moderating of two back-to-back interviews with Clinton and Trump at NBC's Commander-in-Chief Forum last week. 

Lauer pressed Clinton on topics including Benghazi and her use of a personal email server, interrupting the Democratic candidate several times throughout the interview. For Trump however, Lauer allowed the candidate to slide on the erroneous claim that he vocally opposed the war in Iraq, and failed to press the GOP nominee on his ties to Putin and the Russian government. 

Lauer’s performance even earned the hashtag #Laueringthebar with Twitter users piling on the Today host’s poor moderating skills.