A modest proposal to John Kerry

[eclectic_boy]

Let me say out of the gate that I'm not seriously suggesting this could be done.... but I suspect it might work.

Dear candidate Kerry,

Now that you have essentially won nomination, you face the question of who to run with. Your choice of VP will be announced either at the July convention or at some point not too far before that, causing in the interim some fevered but small-scale speculation among the politically active. Why not widen that scale considerably? You should arrange for your running mate to be chosen over the course of a two-month television series following the lines of reality shows like "The Bachelor" or "The Apprentice". (No, Donald Trump need not be directly involved with this)
Begin by selecting eight potential candidates, any of which you'd be satisfied with (i.e. none who you think would actively reduce your chances in a significant way -- don't include another Vietnam-vet New England liberal. Nor LaRouche). Allow the American viewing public to winnow the field, by each week challenging the candidates on particular facets of their philosophy, personality, and ability. At the end of the show, toll-free numbers would be used to vote for who should remain a candidate; whoever received the least support would be eliminated. This delayed-runoff-voting process keeps the excitement up about who will make it, and by the end of the eight weeks yields a significant number of viewers/voters who have already voted for the winner (many voting for them multiple times over the weeks). The tension builds, leaving at the show's conclusion a base of people who now have a vested interest in 'their winner' continuing on to win in the Very Special Episode called the general election.
Presumably most Democrats would vote for you anyway, and many Republicans wouldn't vote for you regardless of your running mate. But this TV series could build your ticket a lot of support among unaffiliated voters. Now, call that liberal television network which is under development---have you got a kickoff show for them!

-Jim Moskowitz

Comments

[zorblak.livejournal.com]

Sorry, Jim, but you're too late. Someone's already beaten you to the idea: American Candidate. It's not quite the same; they're using a "reality show" to find a presidential candidate from a bunch of nobodies. But I don't think that American TV will support two presidential politics reality shows...