THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190015
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 43 lines
The decision not to include Ross Perot in televised debates is the proper one.
Yes, Perot won more votes in 1992 than any third-party candidate since Teddy Roosevelt. Yes, he has qualified for millions in federal matching funds. Yes, he's raised some important issues that Clinton and Dole have studiously avoided.
But in 1996, Perot is going nowhere. He continues to hover in single digits. His original outsider appeal has faded due to his on-again, off-again campaign in 1992, revelations about his own record of profiting from government deals and the autocratic and egocentric control he's exercised over his Reform Party.
The Commission on Presidential Debates correctly concluded that Perot has no realistic chance of winning the White House. Comics were quick to claim the same could be said of Republican nominee Bob Dole who trails badly in the polls. But that's a joke. Dole and Clinton are viable candidates. Perot isn't. The commission added: ``Participation is not extended to candidates because they might prove interesting or entertaining.''
The inclusion of Perot would have provided voters with a pointless distraction rather than a plausible alternative. Since the next president of the United States will be Dole or Clinton, it makes sense to give the electorate a chance to see them discussing the issues side by side without a sideshow.
Exclusion from the debates doesn't prevent Perot from buying TV time, garnering free exposure on Larry King and other venues hungry for talk, or from making campaign appearances covered by local media.
But opening up TV debates to third-party candidates with a few percent support could create overpopulated events with Libertarian, Green and other fringe candidates. Until a third party achieves the critical mass needed to have a shot at winning, the viable candidates will remain the Republican and Democratic nominees.
Now it's time for Clinton and Dole to agree to a series of debates whose format encourages discussions of substance and minimizes a further Oprah-ization of a campaign already long on image and short on issues. by CNB