Given that nearly every possible premise for a reality television show has been produced already, I’m surprised that the genre hasn’t dipped into the world of politics yet. The initial reaction to such a show would probably be one of disgust. There would be editorials written about how the program showed the decay of the political process, proving that the presidential vote had become nothing better than a popularity contest.
But once it started airing, I bet “Presidential Idol” be a smash hit. The winner would likely get tons of free publicity by way of the media, and with successful management, they’d have a real shot at the presidency.
The first episodes would be like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance: a panel of judges would visit different cities around the country, listening to 2 or 3 minute stump speeches by presidential hopefuls.1 Auditioners would be required to have no previous political experience. Rounds would progress with different challenges, until the field had been narrowed down to a dozen or so, and then America would start eliminating candidates by phone vote. The leading candidates would likely be populist, moderate, and have compelling backstories.
A smart show producer would take a cue from real campaigns at this level of the show. Viewers could be able to go online, get a list of registered voters, and make phone calls on behalf of their favorite candidate. Since they’re calling about the TV show and not the actual presidential vote, it (probably) wouldn’t be breaking election law regarding a corporation’s support of a candidate. The process could have an incentive along the lines of “whoever calls the most gets to be on the show”, or something to that effect.
To further boost the show’s grassroots efforts, they could attempt to build an entire party, with candidates running in a primary at the congressional level, powered mostly through the show’s website. The television show would be focused on the presidential race, but it could spend 10 minutes or so each episode highlighting one or two of these smaller races around the country. People would become dedicated to the program with this extra content, and perhaps the new party would incite a Ron Paul-style internet movement – this time, though, the movement would be made up of the reality TV audience, not nerds.
Once the winner is picked, the network would cut all ties with the candidate, and they’d start out on their own. The media attention would likely be enough to get a huge number of donations and volunteers, and with the correct management, the candidate could make the jump to independence without a hitch. A smart winner would continue the ideas of the show, by having a regular web video program, and rewarding top volunteers with mentions.
The biggest key to success, I’d bet, is how the media latched on to the story. If it were an election like 2000 or 2004, where a popular opinion was that the two major candidates were both bad or too similar, the Presidential Idol might be heralded by the press as a savior for the system. Entry to the debates would be assured (”Tonight’s top story: the Commission on Presidential Debates continues to deny ____ entry to the first debate of the year. What are they afraid of?”). But if it were an election like 2008, where Barack Obama’s historic nomination seemed to rule things, they might regard the winner as a product of bad American entertainment and a joke.
The fact that Presidential Idol would be successful may sound a little scary, but I’m not sure it’d be all bad. With no previous political experience, the candidate would have no ties to lobbyists, no favors to pay to other politicians, and no hedged stances on issues like gay marriage and health care. They didn’t have to win a partisan primary, so they didn’t have to sell out moderate stances to woo over an activist wing. The only other way to achieve this sort of independence, really, is to run a completely self-funded campaign. (And that’d require some serious eccentricity.)
Now, if the candidate actually won, I have no idea what would happen. I do believe that the show would produce someone very capable – even though they came from a TV show, viewers would probably take their decision very seriously. (Look at how much serious discussion was had about Adam vs. Kris.) My bet would be on a 40-something successful small business owner, who worked his way up from nothing, probably some military experience, and a young family. The Idol’s cabinet would likely be a mixture of Republicans, Democrats, and experts from the private sector.
Would the country survive? Well, the winner couldn’t do worse than Bush.
Note 1: The age requirement for the presidency, 35+, might hurt the show. There’s a reason American Idol has an age limit of 29 – they’re harder to market when they get older. Maybe “Congressional Idol”, with a minimum age of just 25, would be more successful.
2 Responses
June 20th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
This isn’t a new idea. Rupert Murdoch was looking at a concept very much like this several years ago. I don’t think it ever got off the ground.
http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/09/23/time.president.tv/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/28/opinion/reality-tv-meets-politics.html
June 21st, 2009 at 4:01 am
A position like President doesn’t need to be handed off like this. The political process naturally weeds out some of the people who don’t care enough to research the candidate they’re voting for. Infact, I remember, when I was in college, one of my professors told me that he was once approached by a woman at the voting place, and she noticed he was a professor, and asked him about the candidates, so she could make an informed decision. Anyway, my point is that, while this is a good idea, it doesn’t need to be presidential.
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