When ABC completely botched their recent Democratic primary debate, I wrote a post asking readers to play moderator and come up with substantive questions that Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos should've asked. 

We had an overwhelming response of over 300 questions! 

Readers wrote in and e-mailed me asking about the issues that matter to them most, covering everything from universal healthcare to the recession to the Iraq War to trade with China. 

Continue reading to see some of the astute, insightful questions that we received, as well as the winner of our ABC question contest:

• George Bush has been spending the last 7 years breaking laws and shredding the same Consitution that he swore to protect and uphold. What's most important to me is that this is to be prevented in the future, so that no president can just waltz into office and cancel all our civil liberties at whim. What will you do to prevent this from happening again? (inthenitemare)
  
• Why are we not saying or doing more for the people in Darfur? (cedric dalton) 
  
• Will you end government contracts to Blackwater and will you hold them accountable for crimes they may have committed?  (JackyD)
• How would you change the prevailing attitude that military might should be our primary financial expenditure, and how would you change the history of the USA becoming involved in war after war? (mama7)
  
• Given the fact that the country is now running a deficit, how will you reduce the deficit and at the same time reduce personal income taxes? (doc1400)
  
• As President, what specific actions would you take to change the very negative world opinion of the United States? And, as follow up to this question, how would you propose changing the hearts and minds of those hostile to us in the Middle East? (GreatFutureForAll)
  
• On the subject of health care, will their programs force the inclusion of acupuncture, biofeedback and other non-drug & non-surgical alternatives? If we just force everyone toward drugs and surgeries, then our health care cost will simply get more expensive. (Javalation)
  
• Is either candidate going to overturn Bush's executive order that grants unmonitored money to churches to do social work? This is money that was stripped from my county's mental heath services, leaving hundreds of people in the cold without their meds, doctors and counselors. The building became a ghost town while the money was turned over to Christian churches. So, rather than getting medical treatment they were supposed to get Jesus. It was a disaster in my community. (GoodWithWood)

And the winning question we received: 

President Bush recently admitted to this network that he approved the Principals' Meetings where several of his lieutenants discussed and authorized the use of torture on detainees.  If you are elected president, will you appoint a special prosecutor to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute President Bush and his subordinates for the use of torture?  Will you encourage Congress to continue its investigations into the US Attorney firings and the missing White House e-mails? (Eli)

Though we had a lot of excellent questions, we liked Eli's most because it dealt with the Bush administration's authorization of torture, an issue that hasn't been brought up by the mainstream press (except by Helen Thomas) since the story first broke, amazingly enough, on ABC.  Eli will get a Brave New Films t-shirt for his winning question.