American Idol: Presidential

Quote of the day:
“Here’s exciting news for New York City: Pope Benedict will be visiting New York in the spring.... And the good news is, he’s bringing his wife, Posh Benedict.”
--David Letterman

Quote of the day no. 2:
“Besides the good things which he possesses, [the American] every instant fancies a thousand others.... This thought fills him with anxiety, fear, and regret.”
--Alexis de Tocqueville

Unbelievable financial statistic of the day:
Percentage of BMWs and Mercedes on the road which are leased: 80%.

Now here’s an excellent idea for the televised presidential debates, the next one of which will be on CNN tomorrow night.

Writing in yesterday’s New York Times, Gail Collins talked about John Edwards whispering to Hillary Clinton that it would be nice to have debates “with a smaller group of people.” Edwards didn’t know that a live microphone was nearby.

The comment enraged Dennis Kucinich. He holds the very logical view that participating in the debates is the only way the public can hear his message. Sounds reasonable. The thing is, Kucinich participated in 21 televised debates when he ran in 2004.

I’ve mentioned before that I like watching the debates because they are an excellent way to see the candidates unscripted and spontaneous. At least that’s the idea.

With 8 Democratic candidates and 10 (or 11 or 12 or how many exactly?) Republicans, the debates consist of two things: 30- 60- or 90- second candidate statements and constant attempts to regulate and manage the discussion.

Clearly, most of the candidates now view the debates primarily as opportunities to generate sound bites. This compromises the purpose for having the debates in the first place. That is, if you assume the purpose is to learn more about the candidates than is reported in headlines and sound bites.

Collins’ idea is this. After each debate, invite viewers to go online to vote for who they want to see go home. She says, “Ratings will soar.”

She is facetious, of course. But I found myself seriously considering this as a possibility. Why not?

Think of the advantages. All kinds of people who normally don’t vote would participate. The most-marginal candidates would be weeded out, only after having the chance to prove themselves.

Limiting the voting to online would at least partially prevent people from voting many times. The problem of underage voting would need to be dealt with.

But I gotta say I like the idea. We have the chance to vote for or against so many talent-show contestants these days. Why not have the chance to vote in the biggest talent show of them all?