Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

Before we start, readers need to take a quick three-question quiz.

If you do not know the answers, it is okay. Few people do, especially the answers to questions 2 and 3. I had to look them up myself.

How many candidates participated in the three 2008 presidential debates?

How many candidates were on the ballot in the 2008 presidential election?

Who decides which candidates participate in the debates?

Barack Obama (Democrat) and John McCain (Republican) were the only two presidential candidates invited to participate in the 2008 presidential debates. This is because since the 1988 election the presidential debates are organized by nominally independent bodies -- the Commission on Presidential Debates and the Citizens' Debate Commission -- that in reality are collectively controlled by the Democratic and Republican parties. The Democrats and Republicans set the bar for participation in the debates at a minimum 15 percent showing in public opinion polls, which in every election but 1992 has closed third party candidates out of the debates.

Public opinion polls have no legal standing. However, because the Democrats and Republicans with the acquiescence of the media enforce this rule, third party candidates are denied the ability to present alternative ideas to the American people and the public recognition they would need to garner a significant number of votes in an election.