Does American politics need an injection of American Idol?
It may not have been the most intellectual of shows, but the summer's biggest television hit provides a model that might be just what our ailing electoral process needs.
Liberals have long complained that our political system is being destroyed by the influences of big money and TV advertising, as well as by the media's obsession with style over substance. The structure of our elections doesn't help, with the state-by-state primary system and electoral college combining to render the votes of a large number of people -- including those in some of the country's largest states -- ultimately irrelevant and uncontested.
But a new TV show that promises to be the American Idol of politics could fix those problems. The program American Candidate -- which has already received heavy press coverage and is scheduled to debut on the FX cable network in the winter of 2004 -- will feature 100 candidates squaring off in a series of debates and tests of political skill. A studio audience and viewers voting online and by phone will gradually eliminate candidates during the course of the show. The winner will assume the title of "people's candidate" and will have the option of launching his or her own independent run for the presidency.
TV shows are, of course, designed to get ratings -- and, as a result, American Candidate does run the risk of making a mockery of politics. But given the mockery of democracy that our presidential elections have become, the show may present a very appealing, even preferable, alternative -- one that integrates many of the campaign reforms liberals have been promoting for years.
Nominees to be the people's candidate won't, for example, have to worry about raising money. With FX footing the bill, their only concern will be appealing to voters and competing effectively with other candidates.
And talk about free air time: A weekly program specifically designed to present candidates and help voters make their choice is the kind of exposure those who decry the huge amount spent on TV advertising have been touting for decades.
American Candidate would also bypass the absurd and grossly unfair system of primaries. While the mostly white, rural voters in states such as Iowa and New Hampshire currently exercise disproportionate power, a viewer who votes for the people's candidate will have the same electoral sway whether he or she lives in California or Delaware. At the same time, this model would preserve the best aspect of primary campaigns: the so-called "retail politicking" that goes on in New Hampshire, as candidates compete each week to win the affection of a small, live audience -- one that, unlike New Hampshire, for example, will likely have a diverse population.
Given that the show will air on FX -- home of Baywatch parody Son of the Beach and Ally McBeal re-runs -- one might wonder just what sorts of contests candidates will have to compete in. Reformers who have long sought free air time for candidates don't, after all, have in mind Fear Factor-esque face-offs to see who can keep their hands in a pot of worms the longest.
But there's every reason to believe FX sees this as what those in Hollywood call a "prestige project." The young cable network has been trying to build HBO-like buzz for itself with the critically acclaimed cop drama The Shield, and it's teaming with R.J. Cutler -- the documentarian behind The War Room and American High -- to make American Candidate. Policy debates and contests to decide whether to use opposition research against opponents are two of the ideas that have been floated as likely episodes.
This is still TV, though, and manufacturing drama will no doubt be essential. That's obviously why FX is planning to shoot episodes at picturesque monuments such as Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty, with the final nominating convention held on the National Mall. But manufacturing drama through events such as parades and rallies has always been part of American politics, particularly at times in the past when voter turnout was higher than it is now. Many nonvoters, particularly young people, find politics deadly boring. The sort of drama that keeps voters watching TV may be just what we need right now.
The greatest reason to worry about American Candidate might be that the producers don't seem to realize the power their show could have. In a September 20 interview on National Public Radio, Cutler claimed that his show wouldn't give an advantage to its winning candidate (should he or she choose to run) any more than the World Wrestling Federation did for Jesse Ventura or Hollywood did for Ronald Reagan. But that's quite disingenuous: Neither Ventura nor Reagan entered show business with the explicit intent of becoming president. And while the Democratic nominee will spend the spring of 2004 largely out of the public eye, the people's candidate will continue to be on TV every week -- giving him or her what might seem an almost unfair amount of exposure for a political neophyte.
It's still highly unlikely, of course, that a new TV show on a cable network will produce America's next president. But if American Candidate is successful and produces a contender who has an impact on the 2004 election, the major parties and the media might have to take a second look at how they've conducted our recent elections. Perhaps they'll realize that a little more drama and a lot less emphasis on fundraising could help create a stronger democracy -- and that a little built-in TV time can't hurt.
