[pissant]

And so it goes....

[calcowgirl]

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/OPINION01/450749263/-1/OPINION01

(snip)

The ill-conceived plans by the two networks to limit the pool of candidates is inappropriate on many counts, not the least of which is thrusting the media into what should always be the uncomfortable position of “making” news rather than “covering” news.

As many of you no doubt recall, that’s a lesson we learned quite painfully back in 1980 when The Telegraph tried to arrange a one-on-one Republican debate between George Bush and Ronald Reagan in Nashua, casting aside the other five candidates who were mired in single digits at the time.

Unbeknownst to the newspaper and Bush, Reagan had invited the other candidates to participate in the debate, which prompted protests from Bush and then-Telegraph Editor Jon Breen. When the editor instructed a sound technician to cut the power to Reagan’s microphone, Reagan responded with his now-famous “I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green! (sic).” The rest is history.

With that serving as an appropriate backdrop, we urge ABC and Fox executives to reconsider their positions and open their weekend debates to the full field of candidates.

It is the only fair thing to do.