Nightline - Politics and Show Business

[IkeWarnedUs]

TONIGHT'S FOCUS: The debate is tomorrow. Actually "debate" may be the wrong term, since it is so tightly controlled. In the meantime, the candidates have been all over the television, just not on news shows. What's going on? And why were those people taken out of the campaign rallies?

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This is something of a sore subject here at Nightline. We have a very difficult time getting the major candidate to appear on Nightline. We spent a day on the campaign trail with Sen. Kerry. We had Sen. Edwards and Sen. Kerry on a couple of times during the primaries. But now, it's much tougher. The administration has declined all of our invitations for either the president or the vice president to appear. However, the president appears on Dr. Phil today. And on the Bill O'Reilly show. Sen. Kerry has been on the Daily Show and David Letterman. Why? Well, it's sort of obvious. Stuart Stevens is a media strategist for the Bush campaign. In an interview with Chris Bury that will run tonight:

BURY: Has something fundamentally changed in the media landscape? STEVENS: Well, they ask easier questions on Dr. Phil than on Nightline. And also, you're trying to reach marginal voters.

Well I guess that is a compliment on some level, but frustrating nevertheless. But it's not about us, much as we would like to think it is. It's about you all, the voters. Are you being served? Each of these shows provides a service, albeit a very different one. And how a candidate responds to Jon Stewart is as revealing as how they respond to Ted Koppel or Chris Bury. But if they only go to relatively "safe" programs, do the voters learn enough? Chris will report on this tonight. And something else has been happening this political season. People wearing T-shirts supporting one candidate to the other candidate's campaign rally been removed from rallies. In some cases they have been arrested. What's that all about? Chris will report on that as well.

Tomorrow night is the first of the debates. But can you really call such a structured joint appearance a "debate"? The rules, which are complex and lengthy, seem designed to prevent any kind of real debate. There are famous stories about rock star demands, like no brown M & M's backstage, and things like that (Van Halen, if you're wondering.) Well, the rules governing tomorrow night's event are almost as arcane. Jim Wooten will take a look at one of the tightest structures in politics, and whether it will survive past the opening moments.

As I write this, the pilot has just successfully landed in Spaceship One, completing the first flight in their quest to win the X-Prize. We reported on them last night, hope you all saw it, and we'll be updating that story tonight. So it will be a busy broadcast, hope you'll join us.

Leroy Sievers and the Nightline Staff
Nightline Offices
ABC News Washington Bureau