For the Candidates, Not Just Any Brand Of Soapbox Will Do

The Republican candidates have been reluctant to join with CNN for a YouTube debate, with Romney complaining that White House aspirants shouldn't have to field questions from the likes of a snowman, as the Democrats did on CNN last month.

Beyond his Fox appearances, Thompson has largely limited his unofficial campaign to postings on conservative Web sites and an interview with National Review.

Hillary Clinton, who grants few interviews, is even more elusive; she has not appeared on a Sunday morning program this year. Barack Obama, by contrast, has done interviews on "Face the Nation," "This Week" and CNN's "Late Edition." Edwards has done "Face the Nation," "This Week" and "Meet the Press."

While Obama has done three interviews on the road with Fox's Carl Cameron, he, like Clinton and Edwards, has not been interviewed by any of the network's hosts this year. To Democratic activists, says Lehane, "if you go on Fox you're consorting with the enemy." Second-tier candidates, though, are less selective: Dennis Kucinich has made 10 appearances on Fox this year.

John McCain has been the most available of the Republicans, appearing five times this year on the NBC, CBS and ABC Sunday shows, along with 11 appearances on Fox. Joe Biden has been the most talkative Democrat, with 11 visits to the five Sunday shows.

The top candidates have been more receptive to the network morning shows, where the questioning is often limited to six minutes rather than a sustained cross-examination about their records. Clinton has appeared three times on "Today," twice on "Good Morning America" and once on CBS's "Early Show"; Giuliani has stopped by a bit less often.

Occasionally candidates break out of their comfort zone. The Republican contenders, who have held one debate on Fox and one on CNN, have also faced off in sessions moderated by two onetime Democratic operatives, Chris Matthews on MSNBC and George Stephanopoulos on ABC.

A similar pattern of playing favorites extends to talk radio and the blogosphere. Romney and McCain, among others, have held conference calls with conservative bloggers, while Vice President Cheney is a periodic caller to Rush Limbaugh. In the same vein, President Bush has repeatedly invited conservative commentators, such as Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes and Rich Lowry, over for White House chats.

Clinton hired a Salon blogger to act as her ambassador to liberal Web sites, and Elizabeth Edwards, a key player in her husband's campaign, often posts comments on such sites.

The Democrats will debate yet again next month in an online-only forum sponsored by two liberal Web sites, Slate and the Huffington Post, along with Yahoo. The Republicans have yet to agree.

The new approach is reminiscent of the 1992 campaign, when it was considered radical for presidential candidates to go on MTV, Larry King and Arsenio Hall, and there was much teeth-gnashing about the bypassing of the traditional media. But eventually the candidates had to deal with the major news programs, and that will undoubtedly happen this season as well.

In the meantime, staying on safe ground not only prevents the candidates from reaching a broader audience, it deprives them of the chance to develop their reflexes by swinging at fastballs.