Colin James: Crowded format offers superficial insights

Labour's vulnerabilities were on show in last evening's TV3 debate. Don Brash's mention of Maori got the worm wriggling up; Tariana Turia's directionally opposite focus on Maori sent it down. Political correctness and tax are weak spots, too.

The "family" worked and so did notions of nationhood. Pragmatism, commonsense and the like didn't work.

National's vulnerability was also on show: Brash was visibly and audibly nervous at the outset - and he kept mum on his tax secret. Asset sales were bad news.

And social issues, especially student loans, wooed the worm better than Dr Brash on the economy, aside from tax cuts.

But is the worm an arbiter? This forum was better-mannered and moderated than the scraps in 2002. Nevertheless, issues went past on the breeze.

Of course. Eight on the platform (thanks to the Broadcasting Act) and too little time: appetising crumbs, not a nourishing loaf.

Roll on the one-on-one debates and in-depth interviews. If the television companies are game to let the leaders talk at length, this already interesting election might also be an informed one.