— We can only hope that Bob Dole's opening salvo will be, "Bill, you ignorant slut."
In a real-life echo of the classic Saturday Night Live debates between Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd, the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes has hired former political adversaries Bob Dole and Bill Clinton to do a series of debates beginning Sunday night.
The two elder statesmen of U.S. politics, who vied for the presidency in 1996, have signed on for 10 segments of Point/Counterpoint debate. No price was disclosed.
Given their personal histories and impressive CV's, some media pundits predict the Bill and Bob show could make for riveting TV. "Dole has a record in government that goes back forever, and Clinton was president of the United States for two terms," says Robert Thompson, founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "The collective experience and knowledge of these two guys is absolutely formidable."
More important, though, Thompson adds both men are at points in their careers where they're going to be able to shoot from the hip. "The power in the House of Clinton and in the House of Dole is now held by the spouses," adds the professor, referring to the fact that both men's wives are U.S. senators. "It could be fascinating because neither has to toe the party line, and you'll never know what might come out of their mouths."
According to CBS, the former president and the former Senate majority leader will take turns selecting topics. Each will speak for 45 seconds and will have 15 seconds for rebuttal. It's a rebirth of the original Point/Counterpoint segments of the seventies with snarly conservative syndicated columnist James Kilpatrick and the lefty liberal Nicholas von Hoffman, later replaced with Shana Alexander.
Observers say Dole, a mordant wit and recent spokesman for erectile dysfunction (Viagra) and Pepsi, is the ideal foil for Clinton, a prominent speaker and soon-to-be-published author. Both men are opinionated, smart, seasoned political strategists.
Both Clinton and Dole promised they won't just spout the Democratic and Republican party lines. "Because of where we are in our lives and the way we were when we were in, we think that we should agree when we can agree," Clinton told the media yesterday. "And we may surprise the people."
Then he quipped: "We're doing 60 Minutes because we're too old for Survivor and Star Search."
Added Dole: "We both cleared it with our wives so we won't get in trouble."
There was talk a few months ago that Clinton might land a syndicated TV talk show. That didn't materialize. This debate is a coup for Clinton, which will likely quiet critics who complained a talk show would be a cheesy gig for an ex-president of the United States.
Don Hewitt, the executive producer and creator of 60 Minutes, said the segment will not be called Point/Counterpoint any more. Instead it will simply be called Clinton/Dole one week and Dole/Clinton the next week. "When you've got a name like that you don't waste it," said Hewitt, who will soon retire.
Once fierce enemies, Dole and Clinton have recently become friends. Before the end of his second term as president, Clinton, 56, awarded the 79-year-old Dole (a war hero) the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The two men also worked on a charity event to help victims of 9/11.
The addition of Clinton and Dole could provide a spark for the program's ratings. After almost 35 years on CBS, 60 Minutes is still the most-watched news magazine program, but its average audience has dropped by about one million viewers from last season.
Thompson said this is a masterstroke for CBS. "It shows that after 35 years of 60 Minutes the old lady still has a couple of tricks up her sleeve. I think this will be something that will give 60 Minutes the injection it needs."
