Ok, not American Idol but this new reality show called "American Candidate" that is like American Idol will be starting on Showtime in late January. It is getting a huge programming and promotional budget.
If this show was on HBO I would definitely be concerned about its impact. But if this show gets popular and puts forth an interesting candidate this could be a very weird, out of left field force on the election.
Cutler says of the show
We will be making available to every American who is qualified, by virtue of the Constitution, the opportunity to run for president,' Cutler said. 'We're trying to see if there's a young Abe Lincoln out there, somebody whose vision could turn on the public in an exciting way.
and
We're taught that every young boy or girl can grow up to be president, but we all know that's not really true.The two major party candidates in the 2000 election came from political dynasties. This show is going to ask whether or not anyone really can become president.
Here is the format, roughly, I am sure it will have changed by the time it gets to air...In the hunt for untapped political leaders, a panel of semi-celebrities will assess a pool of applicants and choose approximately 100 candidates for the start of the series.
Against suitably democratic backdrops (Mount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty), candidates will battle it out in numerous competitions, from debates to deciding whether or not to use spin-doctoring and dirty tricks to tarnish other contestants.
The final episode will be an American Candidate convention, held on the National Mall in Washington in early July 2004 - about the same time the Republicans and Democrats are gearing up for their own beauty contests or conventions. In a live episode, viewers will then determine the winning candidate from among three finalists.
Cutler said American Candidate had a serious point - that after decades of political candidates who were a little more than puppets to greater interests, the show would test the true openness of US democracy.
Just in case you don't think this could actually be serious, check this out from a television trade mag this morning, they are going all out.
RJ Cutler's reality series American Candidate for Showtime/Viacom got a boost from the Federal Election Commission yesterday which determined that the show's contestant/candidates who will be going through the motions as if they too were actual candidates for the presidency, may talk about real/current presidential candidates, and the real candidates may appear on the show, without it becoming a campaign finance rule issue. The Campaign Finance Rules prohibit corporate contributions to federal campaigns, and the FEC made the determination this reality show under the media exemption rules.
anyone care to muse what this show might mean? and what it could do?