Let's Look Ahead to 2004 Campaign

NEW YORK (AP) â€” As we continue to sort out Election Year 2000, another task lies on the horizon. <br><br>This is a mission much larger than figuring out who we chose as our next president. We've

Friday, November 17th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” As we continue to sort out Election Year 2000, another task lies on the horizon.

This is a mission much larger than figuring out who we chose as our next president. We've got to look beyond that. We've got to get cracking on Campaign 2004.

The challenge will be great. This go-around, after months of apathy from the voters, after months of studied blandness from the major-party candidates, after months of restlessness from the media, election night erupted, no, not with a new president, but with an entertainment free-for-all.

Without warning, viewers were treated to plot twists! Conflicts! Mystery! False leads! Highly paid anchors with egg on their face! Even odd new terms like ``butterfly ballot'' and ``hanging chad''! Who needs ``Madigan Men'' and ``Freakylinks''? The networks' coverage of this presidential whowonit has been the best fall programming in years!

To give credit where it's due, we voters played a pivotal role by finessing that cliffhanger between Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore. Then the newscasters, bless 'em, whipped suspense into vaudeville when they called the election for Bush â€” then, stunningly, un-called it.

Adding to the muddle, certain viewers threatened to demand a repeat of election night coverage. It seems the buttons on their remote controls confused them, so they aren't sure they punched the channel they meant to.

But the fun can't last forever. Like other fresh, kookie fare gone stale (``Ally McBeal'' comes to mind), the multi-network sitcom ``Too Close to Call'' is beginning to grate. Too many complications. Not enough action. And a much too dragged-out ending.

Even so, the bar is set sky-high for future campaigns. How will we ever top ourselves next time?

One way is with a different breed of presidential candidate. This year, the virtue of Gore and Bush as statesmen or pols was beside the point. In the area that really counts for most of us â€” their stature as entertainers â€” they clearly proved lacking.

This was particularly vivid in a year when not only were TV humorists poking fun at the candidates, but also, more than ever before, the candidates themselves got into the act.

This was a presidential campaign in which the rivals were seen on TV yukking it up with Jay Leno and David Letterman seemingly as much as talking policy with Tim Russert and Sam Donaldson.

In a joint TV appearance that was widely covered and repeatedly excerpted by news outlets, Bush and Gore lent their skills at self-parody to ``Saturday Night Live'' in a 90-second sketch seen by five times more viewers than their 30-minute solo, noncomedic sessions on Fox a week earlier.

On ``SNL's Presidential Bash 2000,'' Bush poked fun at his alleged sense of entitlement (``my father was president,'' he bragged) and at his penchant for mangling language (he described the comedy of ``SNL'' as ``offen-sible'').

Overhearing Bush, Gore spoofed his own know-it-all image by letting out a long, impatient sigh â€” the sort of sigh for which he was criticized in the first presidential debate â€” and by boasting, ``I was one of the very FIRST to be offended by material on `Saturday Night Live.'''

It was a shrewd strategy for both men. They came off looking like good sports and clued-in, besides. They were in on the joke, even when the joke was on them. They clearly understood the reigning principle of public life: Whatever your identity, you can profit from its quirks and deficiencies if your jokes are good enough.

Bush and Gore understood how, in the life cycle of campaign rhetoric, a carefully crafted concept like ``fuzzy math'' or ``lock box'' would be introduced in all seriousness by a candidate. Then, with blinding speed, TV's jesters would turn it into a punch line. The obvious next step: The candidate reclaims the joke, thereby getting the last word (``I took all my sighs,'' cracked Gore, ``and put them in a lock box'').

But understanding doesn't guarantee adroitness. Why continue to accept our candidates from the world of politics, then expect them to remake themselves into world-class entertainers? For the 2004 presidential race, why not make things easy and nominate seasoned comedians?

NBC has found a hit in its drama ``The West Wing,'' which takes certain liberties by portraying the leader of the free world as someone other than Chief Comic.

Now what this country lacks are bold new real-life programs. In 2004, we need wisecracks as great as the American people. And we need a great leader to deliver them.

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On the Net:

Saturday Night Live Web site: http://nbctv.nbci.com/snl/

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Elsewhere in television ...

`AMERICA'S MOST WANTED': Going live for the first time in its 14-year history, ``America's Most Wanted'' will pursue bad guys across the nation during its ''50 Criminals From 50 States'' edition, airing Saturday at 9 p.m. EST on Fox. Host John Walsh will be stationed in Washington, D.C., to coordinate this effort and help capture fugitives before the night is over. During the broadcast, correspondents will coordinate with local law enforcement officials to update viewers on investigations as they unfold in local viewing areas. Callers to the ``AMW'' hot line will be able to track the progress of their tips as the program attempts to achieve a record number of captures. Lawbreakers better watch out!