http://news.yahoo.com/...
Saturday's prime-time presidential debates from New Hampshire will be less crowded because ABC News is eliminating ... Democrats Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.
The candidates failed to meet benchmarks for their support that were outlined prior to Thursday's Iowa caucus, the network said Friday.
With Biden and Dodd dropping out, that leaves four candidates to share 90 minutes of fame:
(1) Barack Obama
(2) John Edwards
(3) Hillary Clinton
(4) Bill Richardson
Iowa has already made its impact. It says a lot that the #1 and #2 slots are already defined. Kudos to the other candidates, and I wish the media could have given us more of a choice earlier on. But now that the field has been narrowed, it will be refreshing to take a closer look at the choices we have.
I've also got more good news about the debate:
The media coverage has not been fair to most of the candidates in the first place. And yet, the debates haven't helped because nobody gets more than 10 minutes (except maybe one or two candidates). And most people haven't watched any of the debates. They're watching headlines, at most.
But this debate will be different:
"In previous debates where the stage was more crowded you had to make sure all of the candidates got fair time," said David Chalian, ABC News political director. "Here you will have more time to go in depth on the issues."
...
During the first 45 minutes, Gibson will select three prominent issues to promote a dialogue. The candidates will be seated and encouraged to talk to each other, and not just to the cameras, Gibson said.
"If I have any personal prejudice against these debates, it's that you see too much of the moderator," Gibson said. "I want to see less of the moderator and more of the candidates."
There won't be any buzzers or lights on the stage to mark time limits for talking, putting the pressure on Gibson to limit filibusters and promote fairness.
The second half of the debate will be a more traditional format.
It's time to go deep. Expect more SUBSTANTIAL debate in the first half than we've had in all the debates combined so far. In both quantity AND quality. No more "say your talking points and slogans into the camera".
Don't doubt it for a second: this New Hampshire debate could have a big impact on NH and ultimately the country.