Clinton vs. Dole: Again

Posted on March 6, 2003

Somebody over at CBS' 60 Minutes has really got his groove on. After losing over a million viewers in the past year or so, the once-mighty news magazine show has really been revamping its image lately. First, Dan Rather lands the interview of the year with Saddam Hussein which airs on 60 Minutes II, and now the show is bringing back the popular "Point-Counterpoint" segment of the show. Former President Bill Clinton and former Senator Majority Leader and 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole have been signed to air 10 segments (which will be called "Clinton/Dole" one week, then "Dole/Clinton" the next) at a reputed cool $1 million, for Mr. Clinton alone. According to the Associated Press, Clinton said their wives -- freshman U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elizabeth Dole -- were ``both terrified'' about what they may say, although Dole joked that they have both gotten "permission" to be on the show.

I personally think this is a great idea. I cringed at all the press reports and rumors last year that former president Clinton was going to be either a talk show host, an MTV correspondent or a movie star, depending on which bizarre report you read. Regardless of their politics, I think most Americans would prefer that their ex-presidents behave in a professional manner. Clinton is the youngest ex-president that we've ever had -- I mean, it's not like he's going to retire to play golf or something -- so he had to find something to do. And he really has behaved himself since President Bush was elected.

I think the new Clinton/Dole segment will fill the gaping hole left when CNN re-tooled and basically destroyed what used to be the best show of this type on tv: Crossfire. CNN fired the likeable Bill Press and replaced him with Paul Begala and James Carville. Then they made the hosts dress up in stupid boxing outfits and glare at the cameras for promos. Bill Press and Tucker Carlson made a great team. They hotly debated the issues of the day, but somehow still seemed likeable to viewers. They played off each other's styles and actually seemed to like and respect each other, even when they disagreed. Now Crossfire has deteriorated into an obnoxious shouting match, and the poor ratings reflect viewers' distaste for watching Bob Novak and Paul Begala scream at each other. It's boring, tasteless and amazingly uninformative.

Bob Dole's appearances on late night television, such as Letterman, show how funny he really is. And, of course, Bill Clinton isn't exactly lacking in the charisma and brains departments -- those weren't the traits that got him into trouble. Dole and Clinton think that viewers are ready for lively debate, without screaming and name calling. And I think they're right.