WEST WING FANS THE BIG LOSERS IN LIVE DEBATE

LAST night’s “West Wing” debate provided food for thought, but the food was broccoli.

The event demonstrated, again, that televised bebates – even fictional ones – are dull, no matter how good for you they are supposed to be.

The debate between the “West Wing” presidential candidates – Texas Democrat Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) and California Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) – was telecast live on NBC. It was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event in which anything could happen.

Well, not much of anything happened. The two agreed early on to toss moderator Forrest Sawyer’s list of ground rules in favor of a free-flowing exchange of ideas without time limits.

This was supposed to usher in a debate that would be as electrifying as NBC’s pre-telecast hype promised it would be. Instead, the exchanges on issues such as immigration, prescription drugs, gun laws and energy had little wattage.

And aspects of the telecast itself were poorly thought out. One gaffe was the use of the NBC News logo under the word “Live” on screen throughout the hour.

NBC does its news division a disservice by slapping a news label on a piece of prime-time entertainment. It is irresponsible, too, because it confuses some viewers.

The telecast was sponsored entirely by American Express, which squandered its investment in its very first break, when Ellen DeGeneres came on and babbled nonsensically for two full minutes.

It might have beenthe single worst commercial since Ralph Kramden went on TV to sell a kitchen gadget in a famous episode of “The Honeymooners” in 1955. Judging by the script, an effort had been made to balance the two candidates’ points of view. But you cannot balance the intangibles. To play the Republican, Alda assumed his usual , hang-dog posture, while Smits was upright, barrel-chested and broad-shouldered.

He was JFK to Alda’s Nixon, and it virtually assures a victory for Santos when the postdebate poll results come out today.

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