YOU COULD SAY I LOST MY BELIEF IN OUR POLITICIANS; THEY ALL SEEM LIKE GAME-SHOW HOSTS TO ME: I don't quote post-Police Sting lyrics often, but I do so now to prove a point: Mickey Kaus suggested recently that, rather than all nine Democratic presidential candidates fighting with each other during debates to say essentially the same thing, the Dems should switch to a new debate format- using
"modern speed-dating technology"- in which the different candidates square off one-on-one, for a few minutes at a time.
I have a better idea- why not apply the format of "The Weakest Link" (and other game/reality shows), and have one candidate be eliminated from the debate before each commercial break? Some debates the judges could decide, while others the studio/home audience votes. This way only the major candidates would be left at the end of each debate, eliminating the filler from the Sharptons and Kuciniches of the world. And people like Kerry and Clark would be kept from napping- as they have been- when presented with the threat of elimination.
This way, candidates would actually have incentive to actually do well and say smart things, rather than the pandering, ineffectual bullshit that's characterized the debates so far. They could even have one big debate each month, in which the first couple candidates eliminated would actually be required to drop out of the race.
Come on, who's with me on this?
Also- the respectable, 15-year legacy of the "Rock the Vote" campaign may have been wiped clean by the embarrassing debate they sponsored in Boston a few weeks ago. But now legendary sitcom producer Norman Lear is sponsoring an alternative called Declare Yourself- check it out; my sister was at the launch.