Open up debates

The criteria for inclusion in the 2000 presidential debates announced Jan. 6 by the Commission on Presidential Debates may unfairly exclude candidates with a serious chance to win.

The commission, made up entirely of Democrats and Republicans, has decreed that a third-party candidate must demonstrate 15 percent support in the polls to be included. But such a high threshold could lock out someone with a realistic chance for victory.

For example, Reform Party Gov. Jesse Ventura was polling at 10 percent in Minnesota in September 1998, before being invited to the debates. Ventura went on to win in November with 37 percent of the vote.

As Ventura's election demonstrated, debates can change the outcome of an election. That's why the Debates Commission should offer voters a broad spectrum of legitimate candidates -- instead of acting as kingmaker for their Democratic and Republican bosses.

-- Lisa Gunner, Burbank