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But what about the presidential candidates themselves?
A voter in Maryland wrote Federal Elections Commissioner Matthew Petersen on Sept. 8 seeking a "clear response" to that question.
"I read reports that during the televised event questioning each of the candidates on their qualifications to serve as Commander in Chief, that Secretary Clinton had a microphone in her ear to receive prompting and guidance from advisers off stage," wrote Laurence B of Columbia, MD.
[A check of his name and address at the Maryland State Board of Elections Internet site verified the writer's identity as a registered voter.]
"Surely this is a more serious violation of competition than the doping which the Olympics have had to clean up. ... Can you please confirm that your commission will take conclusive steps to ensure that no such cheating takes place during the debates?" the letter concluded.
When he received no response to his letter, he wrote again on Sept. 21: "I've got to say I'm really discouraged not to have received a confirmation from you or from your office that your policy will be to disallow the two candidates to wear ear microphones. Am I to interpret your lack of a response to mean that such behavior will, indeed be accepted?"
That correspondence got an immediate and lengthy response in "legalese" from an attorney with the FEC:
Comment: The same rules never apply to the speshul people with money, clout, and psychopathic personalities.