American Candidate
Share
Transcript
BROOKE GLADSTONE: This is On the Media. I'm Brooke Gladstone.
BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield. This weekend, the Showtime cable network kicks off a 10-episode series that aims to select a so-called "people's candidate." The contest winner will claim $200,000 in cash and a national platform from which producers say the victor could mount an actual write-in campaign for president. New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers picks up the story for On the Media in Keene, New Hampshire, where part of the American Candidate was taped earlier this summer.
JOSH ROGERS: Strollers under the elms on Keene's main drag witnessed a tableau long familiar to most granite-staters -- a presidential hopeful on the make.
BOB VANECH: [SPEAKING THROUGH BULLHORN] Every year, you guys are the beginning of a broken system. We have got an opportunity to change the country with what we're doing here.
JOSH ROGERS: The man with the bullhorn is Bob Vanech, the 42 year old Californian who was one of nine contestants to descend on New Hampshire to compete for the title of American Candidate. They can't call themselves presidential candidates because of federal election laws. From his dark suit and red tie to his sober comb over and perma-grin, Vanech looked every inch the real-life politician. But in his parting remark, before climbing on an ersatz campaign bus, Vanech indicated that, for him, the medium is indeed the message.
BOB VANECH: How about non-verbose 20-minute speeches from politicians? Four minute speeches, cause it's on television. Four minute speeches. Vote Bob.
R.J. CUTLER: This is a show that absolutely explores the blurry line between politics and entertainment.
JOSH ROGERS: R.J. Cutler is one of the American Candidate's executive producers.
R.J. CUTLER: This line has been blurring probably since Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ran against each other, and the, the equivalent of the tabloids, the rags, blurred the line. Certainly in the television age the, the blurry line has grown.
JOSH ROGERS: Cutler also produced the political documentaries The War Room and The Perfect Candidate. Citing a desire to maintain suspense for his new venture, Cutler was tight-lipped about exactly what American Candidate viewers can expect, but he did confirm a few basics: American Candidate contestants will travel the country and face a series of challenges designed to replicate life on the campaign trail, but unlike real candidates, they don't do fundraising. They also face elimination at each stop based on an American Idol-style telephone vote. In the first episode, hopefuls declared their candidacies in their hometowns. In the second, taped here in New Hampshire, they were competing at a mock political rally. R.J. Cutler says about 1500 people applied to be on the show and that producers made their choices with one eye on diverse backgrounds and beliefs and the other focused squarely on the future of the American Republic itself.
R.J. CUTLER: This group represents a, a strong group of, of leaders in this country, and it's -- the goal of the show is to provide a platform for people of vision, passion and talent. I expect them to go home and, you know, run for city council or mayor or congressman and, and go from there, and we'll see what happens.
JOSH ROGERS: Several of the American candidates have real-life political experience. Keith Boykins once served as a special assistant to Bill Clinton.
KEITH BOYKINS: Any baby in New Hampshire. Every hand -- any--anybody possible, I will be happy to contact them and get them to, to support us.
JOSH ROGERS: Greeting supporters, Boykins displayed an on-the-stump M.O. that would have done his former boss proud.
KEITH BOYKINS: ...all wonderful people.
JOSH ROGERS: The American Candidate cast also features 27 year old Malia Lazu, a political organizer whose resume includes a successful redistricting lawsuit against the Massachusetts legislature. After cheerfully flashing her tongue ring for a clutch of onlookers, Lazu said furthering debate on issues ignored by real politicians justifies the show.
MALIA LAZU: Really I'm just trying to do politics differently. You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And, and I could tell you right now, the people who, the people who are part of the show are talking about different things.
JOSH ROGERS: And some of those different things include expanded rights for animals, drug decriminalization, federally-funded kindergarten through college education, legalized gay marriage, and the abolishment of the IRS. If the hyperbole of the show's host, daytime TV veteran Montel Williams, is anything to go by, the revolution just might be televised.
MONTEL WILLIAMS: This is a wonderful opportunity for you to show the rest of the nation that we are tired of just a two-party system. It's time to hear the voices of the people-- [CROWD CHEERS, APPLAUSE] -- and through something like television, we are going to change the way America thinks about the election process. I guarantee it, and we're starting right here in Keene. [BAND MUSIC]
WO
MAN: Can I get anybody any signs?
JOSH ROGERS: As volunteers at the mock political rally hand out American Candidate signs and special effects technicians load the confetti cannons, Joe Trippi holds forth on the state of the American polity.
JOE TRIPPI: We're now in the age of empowerment. I don't believe we're in the information age. I think we're in the age of empowerment.
JOSH ROGERS: Trippi was architect of former Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean's internet-driven campaign. Trippi is here to watch the American Candidates in action. A consultation with him is the prize for the winner of the day's challenge. In between bites of an organic sausage dog, Trippi asserted that reality television is one more arrow in the quiver of those who want to remake American politics.
JOE TRIPPI: The internet, and the grassroots organizing out there is empowering people from the bottom to actually make a difference in this country like they haven't been able to make since like the '60s. You know, I think the American Candidate, Dean campaign, there's all kinds of grassroots activity this year that I think really is going to bubble up and make our democracy stronger.
JOSH ROGERS: And Trippi is apparently not the only political pro helping the American Candidate reality television show. Executive producer Cutler claims viewers can expect cameos from a slate of celebrity politicos.
R.J. CUTLER: Again, I don't want to give away format, but Ed Rollins will be here, Frank Luntz has been involved in the design, was just here the other day. Joe Lockhardt -- so there are a lot of exciting people who are involved.
JOSH ROGERS: The show's board of advisers lists such names as Kay Maxwell, national president of the League of Women Voters, Norm Orenstein of the American Enterprise Institute, and Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University. Also listed is former Democratic presidential candidate, former U.S. Senator and 9/11 Commission member Bob Kerrey.
BOB KERREY: I just said I'd be willing to be on their little advisory board, and thus far they have not sought nor have I volunteered to give them any advice! And maybe when I see the production, I'm going to say geez, this is awful. At the moment, I don't have any basis to either praise it or criticize it.
NANCY SPORBURG: This man said he'll hold this one.
JOSH ROGERS: Back at the rally in Keene, local civic booster Nancy Sporburg said she hopes for the best and wants Keene to look good on TV, but doubts viewers will think the show is part of a genuine political process.
NANCY SPORBURG: I guess I have some concerns about it, because we don't know a lot about how the candidates were chosen, so my guess is, is that a producer chose the candidates, and I'm not sure that, you know, if you look at this as being reality, that I'd want a producer choosing my next president. [BAND MUSIC]
JOSH ROGERS: Standing next to the band she brought in from Vermont, Jean Nelson concludes the American Candidate is in keeping with the American way.
JEAN NELSON: I did hear some people saying that this is poor timing for something like this with the elections coming up and so forth. But again, I mean doesn't everybody try and capitalize on what's going on in reality? Something like this, which is maybe pseudo-entertainment capitalizing on a political year. We all do that.
JOSH ROGERS: Political opportunism is everywhere here. Sign-waving supporters for George W. Bush and John Kerry have glommed on to the event, as have a handful of New Hampshire politicians. McKim Mitchell, a local Democratic candidate for the state senate worked the crowd, and as it turns out, Mitchell becomes a major actor in the collision between the play of reality and the reality play of the show. He's a real candidate, running for an actual political office who endorses a fake candidate on a reality show. At the show's mock rally, Mitchell runs into a board member of the Victory Fund, a real life national gay and lesbian political action committee that's just endorsed his actual bid for office. The board member, who has an authentic tie to the pretend politics of the reality show is none other than Chrissy Gephardt -- daughter of Dick.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: Hey!
MAN: Hi, Chrissy.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: How are you? Nice to see you again.
MAN: Good to see you again.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: This is John True.
MAN: Hi, I'm John True. I'm a campaign...
MAN: Pleased to meet you.
JOSH ROGERS: Chrissy Gephardt's presence in Keene was something of a mystery, and it even spawned a mock political controversy. Gephardt had earlier officially declared her American Candidate candidacy, but when asked what she was doing at the show's taping, Gephardt had no comment.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: No comment. I, I really can't answer any questions. Sorry.
JOSH ROGERS: Producers were also mum. Rumors, however, made their way through the crowd and remain thick on the internet. A common theory holds that producers pulled Gephardt out of the lineup but might, audience willing, re-introduce her for the show's finale. [CROWD SHOUTING GEPHARDT, GEPHARDT, GEPHARDT]
WO
MAN: [SHOUTING] What are you afraid of? Let Chrissy speak! Let Chrissy Gephardt speak! She's -- we're here!
JOSH ROGERS: The American Candidate is scheduled to begin airing on the Showtime cable network on August 1st. For On the Media, I'm Josh Rogers in Keene, New Hampshire. [MUSIC]
BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield. This weekend, the Showtime cable network kicks off a 10-episode series that aims to select a so-called "people's candidate." The contest winner will claim $200,000 in cash and a national platform from which producers say the victor could mount an actual write-in campaign for president. New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers picks up the story for On the Media in Keene, New Hampshire, where part of the American Candidate was taped earlier this summer.
JOSH ROGERS: Strollers under the elms on Keene's main drag witnessed a tableau long familiar to most granite-staters -- a presidential hopeful on the make.
BOB VANECH: [SPEAKING THROUGH BULLHORN] Every year, you guys are the beginning of a broken system. We have got an opportunity to change the country with what we're doing here.
JOSH ROGERS: The man with the bullhorn is Bob Vanech, the 42 year old Californian who was one of nine contestants to descend on New Hampshire to compete for the title of American Candidate. They can't call themselves presidential candidates because of federal election laws. From his dark suit and red tie to his sober comb over and perma-grin, Vanech looked every inch the real-life politician. But in his parting remark, before climbing on an ersatz campaign bus, Vanech indicated that, for him, the medium is indeed the message.
BOB VANECH: How about non-verbose 20-minute speeches from politicians? Four minute speeches, cause it's on television. Four minute speeches. Vote Bob.
R.J. CUTLER: This is a show that absolutely explores the blurry line between politics and entertainment.
JOSH ROGERS: R.J. Cutler is one of the American Candidate's executive producers.
R.J. CUTLER: This line has been blurring probably since Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ran against each other, and the, the equivalent of the tabloids, the rags, blurred the line. Certainly in the television age the, the blurry line has grown.
JOSH ROGERS: Cutler also produced the political documentaries The War Room and The Perfect Candidate. Citing a desire to maintain suspense for his new venture, Cutler was tight-lipped about exactly what American Candidate viewers can expect, but he did confirm a few basics: American Candidate contestants will travel the country and face a series of challenges designed to replicate life on the campaign trail, but unlike real candidates, they don't do fundraising. They also face elimination at each stop based on an American Idol-style telephone vote. In the first episode, hopefuls declared their candidacies in their hometowns. In the second, taped here in New Hampshire, they were competing at a mock political rally. R.J. Cutler says about 1500 people applied to be on the show and that producers made their choices with one eye on diverse backgrounds and beliefs and the other focused squarely on the future of the American Republic itself.
R.J. CUTLER: This group represents a, a strong group of, of leaders in this country, and it's -- the goal of the show is to provide a platform for people of vision, passion and talent. I expect them to go home and, you know, run for city council or mayor or congressman and, and go from there, and we'll see what happens.
JOSH ROGERS: Several of the American candidates have real-life political experience. Keith Boykins once served as a special assistant to Bill Clinton.
KEITH BOYKINS: Any baby in New Hampshire. Every hand -- any--anybody possible, I will be happy to contact them and get them to, to support us.
JOSH ROGERS: Greeting supporters, Boykins displayed an on-the-stump M.O. that would have done his former boss proud.
KEITH BOYKINS: ...all wonderful people.
JOSH ROGERS: The American Candidate cast also features 27 year old Malia Lazu, a political organizer whose resume includes a successful redistricting lawsuit against the Massachusetts legislature. After cheerfully flashing her tongue ring for a clutch of onlookers, Lazu said furthering debate on issues ignored by real politicians justifies the show.
MALIA LAZU: Really I'm just trying to do politics differently. You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And, and I could tell you right now, the people who, the people who are part of the show are talking about different things.
JOSH ROGERS: And some of those different things include expanded rights for animals, drug decriminalization, federally-funded kindergarten through college education, legalized gay marriage, and the abolishment of the IRS. If the hyperbole of the show's host, daytime TV veteran Montel Williams, is anything to go by, the revolution just might be televised.
MONTEL WILLIAMS: This is a wonderful opportunity for you to show the rest of the nation that we are tired of just a two-party system. It's time to hear the voices of the people-- [CROWD CHEERS, APPLAUSE] -- and through something like television, we are going to change the way America thinks about the election process. I guarantee it, and we're starting right here in Keene. [BAND MUSIC]
WO
MAN: Can I get anybody any signs?
JOSH ROGERS: As volunteers at the mock political rally hand out American Candidate signs and special effects technicians load the confetti cannons, Joe Trippi holds forth on the state of the American polity.
JOE TRIPPI: We're now in the age of empowerment. I don't believe we're in the information age. I think we're in the age of empowerment.
JOSH ROGERS: Trippi was architect of former Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean's internet-driven campaign. Trippi is here to watch the American Candidates in action. A consultation with him is the prize for the winner of the day's challenge. In between bites of an organic sausage dog, Trippi asserted that reality television is one more arrow in the quiver of those who want to remake American politics.
JOE TRIPPI: The internet, and the grassroots organizing out there is empowering people from the bottom to actually make a difference in this country like they haven't been able to make since like the '60s. You know, I think the American Candidate, Dean campaign, there's all kinds of grassroots activity this year that I think really is going to bubble up and make our democracy stronger.
JOSH ROGERS: And Trippi is apparently not the only political pro helping the American Candidate reality television show. Executive producer Cutler claims viewers can expect cameos from a slate of celebrity politicos.
R.J. CUTLER: Again, I don't want to give away format, but Ed Rollins will be here, Frank Luntz has been involved in the design, was just here the other day. Joe Lockhardt -- so there are a lot of exciting people who are involved.
JOSH ROGERS: The show's board of advisers lists such names as Kay Maxwell, national president of the League of Women Voters, Norm Orenstein of the American Enterprise Institute, and Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University. Also listed is former Democratic presidential candidate, former U.S. Senator and 9/11 Commission member Bob Kerrey.
BOB KERREY: I just said I'd be willing to be on their little advisory board, and thus far they have not sought nor have I volunteered to give them any advice! And maybe when I see the production, I'm going to say geez, this is awful. At the moment, I don't have any basis to either praise it or criticize it.
NANCY SPORBURG: This man said he'll hold this one.
JOSH ROGERS: Back at the rally in Keene, local civic booster Nancy Sporburg said she hopes for the best and wants Keene to look good on TV, but doubts viewers will think the show is part of a genuine political process.
NANCY SPORBURG: I guess I have some concerns about it, because we don't know a lot about how the candidates were chosen, so my guess is, is that a producer chose the candidates, and I'm not sure that, you know, if you look at this as being reality, that I'd want a producer choosing my next president. [BAND MUSIC]
JOSH ROGERS: Standing next to the band she brought in from Vermont, Jean Nelson concludes the American Candidate is in keeping with the American way.
JEAN NELSON: I did hear some people saying that this is poor timing for something like this with the elections coming up and so forth. But again, I mean doesn't everybody try and capitalize on what's going on in reality? Something like this, which is maybe pseudo-entertainment capitalizing on a political year. We all do that.
JOSH ROGERS: Political opportunism is everywhere here. Sign-waving supporters for George W. Bush and John Kerry have glommed on to the event, as have a handful of New Hampshire politicians. McKim Mitchell, a local Democratic candidate for the state senate worked the crowd, and as it turns out, Mitchell becomes a major actor in the collision between the play of reality and the reality play of the show. He's a real candidate, running for an actual political office who endorses a fake candidate on a reality show. At the show's mock rally, Mitchell runs into a board member of the Victory Fund, a real life national gay and lesbian political action committee that's just endorsed his actual bid for office. The board member, who has an authentic tie to the pretend politics of the reality show is none other than Chrissy Gephardt -- daughter of Dick.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: Hey!
MAN: Hi, Chrissy.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: How are you? Nice to see you again.
MAN: Good to see you again.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: This is John True.
MAN: Hi, I'm John True. I'm a campaign...
MAN: Pleased to meet you.
JOSH ROGERS: Chrissy Gephardt's presence in Keene was something of a mystery, and it even spawned a mock political controversy. Gephardt had earlier officially declared her American Candidate candidacy, but when asked what she was doing at the show's taping, Gephardt had no comment.
CHRISSY GEPHARDT: No comment. I, I really can't answer any questions. Sorry.
JOSH ROGERS: Producers were also mum. Rumors, however, made their way through the crowd and remain thick on the internet. A common theory holds that producers pulled Gephardt out of the lineup but might, audience willing, re-introduce her for the show's finale. [CROWD SHOUTING GEPHARDT, GEPHARDT, GEPHARDT]
WO
MAN: [SHOUTING] What are you afraid of? Let Chrissy speak! Let Chrissy Gephardt speak! She's -- we're here!
JOSH ROGERS: The American Candidate is scheduled to begin airing on the Showtime cable network on August 1st. For On the Media, I'm Josh Rogers in Keene, New Hampshire. [MUSIC]
Produced by WNYC Studios