Kudos to NH Republican chairman Fergus Cullen for calling in to NHPR’s The Exchange this morning to argue for the inclusion of third-tier candidates in the final presidential debates before the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday. It is not for ABC or Fox, argues Fergus, to decide who’s in and who’s out before NH voters themselves have spoken. He seemed particularly aggrieved that sitting U.S. Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd could be watching the debates on TV instead of participating.
Fergus sounded so sincere in his media criticism that I didn’t even mind the not-so-hidden agenda: the more air time given to candidates who are unlikely to be the Democratic nominee in the fall, the less voters will hear from front runners Clinton, Edwards, and Obama, one of whom is almost certain to be.
