JOHN DICKERSON (HOST): There's been a big question about fact-checking and what the moderator's role should be in that. How do you see that question? 



BOB SCHIEFFER: Well -- and I've said and I've thought about this over the years, after doing these things -- the first fact-checkers have to be the candidates themselves. If one candidate makes a mistake, you want to give the other person a chance to call him out on that. If he or she doesn't, then the moderator steps in and sets the record straight. But if you don't give the candidates themselves that opportunity, you're being unfair to both of them. 

Related: 

Bob Schieffer: The Most Important Advice I Can Give To Debate Moderators

Previously: 

The Nation's Katrina Vanden Heuvel: Fact-Checking By Moderators At The Presidential Debates Is “Vital” 

Journalists Call On Debate Moderators To Fact-Check Candidates

Media Matters’ Do’s And Don’ts For Moderators And Media Covering The 2016 Presidential Debates