David Hellman
10-23-2007, 01:07 PM
So apparently on Friday (Oct. 19), NBC informed Mike Gravel that he's not invited to the next debate (Oct. 30) because his campaign hasn't met certain milestones. These requirements allegedly were never announced before; they were only provided as justifications concurrently with the decision to exclude Gravel.
The conditions are: campaign in Iowa and/or New Hampshire at least 14 times in the past year, poll at least 5% and raise $1 million. Gravel says he's achieved the first two and questions the wisdom of the third.
Here's Gravel's Huffinton Post editorial (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-mike-gravel/why-nbc-and-the-dnc-want-_b_69397.html) about it. He believes they're deliberately targeting him.
I resist jumping to conclusions about these things, but I can say the debates are generally full of crap and I will miss Gravel's presence.
EDIT: On a similar note, did anyone notice that in the August CNN/YouTube debate (and possibly others), every time Gravel talked, the producers cut to a super-close-up of his face that made him look totally crazy? Obviously someone said to a camera guy "I want you to shoot Gravel tight, try to get his eyes glinting with madness!" The only other instance of that shot was one time on Edwards. But Gravel got it like every time.
The conditions are: campaign in Iowa and/or New Hampshire at least 14 times in the past year, poll at least 5% and raise $1 million. Gravel says he's achieved the first two and questions the wisdom of the third.
Here's Gravel's Huffinton Post editorial (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-mike-gravel/why-nbc-and-the-dnc-want-_b_69397.html) about it. He believes they're deliberately targeting him.
I resist jumping to conclusions about these things, but I can say the debates are generally full of crap and I will miss Gravel's presence.
EDIT: On a similar note, did anyone notice that in the August CNN/YouTube debate (and possibly others), every time Gravel talked, the producers cut to a super-close-up of his face that made him look totally crazy? Obviously someone said to a camera guy "I want you to shoot Gravel tight, try to get his eyes glinting with madness!" The only other instance of that shot was one time on Edwards. But Gravel got it like every time.