'Vote' decided who gets most face time

[Algorem]

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

July 22, 2007
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist

WASHINGTON -- It's by design, not coincidence, that the four front-running Democrats in the race for the White House will be standing together at the debate Monday night in Charleston, S.C., with the other four rivals at the ends, where they will get the least camera time. And not all the candidates are happy about this arrangement.

CNN, a debate co-sponsor, did poll the Democratic presidential campaigns to determine if the lineup should be random. But the "vote" to change came with this CNN rule: The agreement of a majority of the campaigns (five) was needed to trigger a random drawing. With the tiers pretty clearly established, the outcome seemed to be pre-ordained. As they did at the June 3 debate in Manchester, N.H., Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will have the center podiums, flanked by former Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will be next to Edwards, and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) will be next to Richardson. At the ends: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska)...

The format for Monday was discussed in a June 29 conference call with the campaigns.

CNN political director Sam Feist said Obama and Clinton were and will be center stage because they "would be the ones questioned by the other candidates and challenged and attacked." The staging is done because a goal of the telecast is to "make this as watchable as possible," Feist said...



Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/478577,CST-NWS-sweet22.article

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Funny

the guy I want to watch is at the end. Glad I don't have cable, and will get to wait until Kucinich's part comes out on youtube.

[Jillian]

2. I am so sick of this. There are 8 people running for Prez contrary to what the control freaks in

Press may think.

[SaveElmer]

3. WHich two besides Obama, Edwards and Clinton...

Voted no...?