"Campaign '08": Now that's TV drama

Commentary |

I'm already missing the 2008 campaign. I'm going to miss it the way I miss "The Wire." The way I missed "Survivor" after Richard won. The way I missed France after Lance.

You might say that the long-running hit series "Campaign '08" aired its series finale on Tuesday. As is customary on such occasions, I must bid it a fond farewell.

"Campaign '08" was a hugely compelling, wildly unpredictable reality-TV drama that captivated the public for well over a year. Millions tuned in, millions cast ballots for their favorite contestants. The media attention for this show and its quasi-celebrity contestants was intense.

Far from trivializing one of the most important acts a citizen of a democracy undertakes, the fact that "Campaign '08" was so entertaining meant that the public really paid attention this time.

One primary debate between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, aired on a major network, drew a larger audience than any comedy or drama all season on NBC. Bill O'Reilly's audience nearly doubled, to 4 million viewers. The spillover into cable talk shows, late-night comedy shows, even such outlets as Nickelodeon and BET was unprecedented.

It was the writer David Halberstam who once observed that television combined theater with politics. These days it's more like politics and "The Amazing Race," but the point remains. You cannot remove showbiz from our national political process, and "Campaign '08" was full-on, high-wattage entertainment from the start.

Between Mike Huckabee and John McCain, the Clintons and the Obamas, this campaign featured more combined television throw-weight than any political field in history, except when Ronald Reagan dined alone.

And like the "Amazing Race," this campaign played out in three short cycles. The first, in the fall of 2007, introduced us to the contestants and their storylines. You had the maverick (McCain), the legacy-bearer (Clinton), the upstart (Obama), the Christian rocker (Huckabee), Mr. Smooth (Mitt Romney), the politician from Alaska (no, not her — Mike Gravel), a few others whose names I forget and, of course, that lovable old salt Rudy.

Cycle 2 of "Campaign '08" (primary season) was marked by new alliances, wicked gamesmanship and tactical strategy. Then McCain cashed in a fast-forward coupon and the race became all about Hillary and Barack.

Though it was no doubt annoying to many Democrats at the time, Clinton's refusal to quit, in hindsight, burnished both candidates as only a dynamic rivalry can (say, the Celtics and the Lakers, who also renewed hostilities).

The news media — all too often given to calling the race like it was the Breeders' Cup — were forced to inform the public about differences in competing health plans, approaches to foreign diplomacy and how a caucus is different from a primary. We got a refresher course in who Sen. Joe McCarthy was and learned that the radical left and radical right were both thriving in American Christianity. It was very educational.

After ending this cycle on a sad note — the death of TV anchor Tim Russert — "Campaign '08" took most of the summer off. I thought this unfortunate, and I endorsed McCain's idea of continuing the show right through the summer with a series of debates — kind of like "the moment of truth" without polygraphs. Obama's producers felt differently.

The third cycle began in the fall — the final season, we were told, of "Campaign '08." Fortunately, the contestants had saved the best for last. An eliminee was invited back (that would be Biden), while McCain played Phone-a-Friend brilliantly, bringing in the show's breakout star, sassy Sarah Palin.

Polls tightened. Crowds of thousands gathered to root on their heroes in gatherings worthy of "American Idol." To be sure, there did seem a point when "Campaign '08" jumped the shark ("Down the Stretch, It's Horse Race Coverage," is the finding of a new report from the decidedly nonentertained Project for Excellence in Journalism).

But for much of the fall season, it was exciting, it felt fresh and, best of all, it really did seem like the two best contestants had made it to the final round.

In monetary terms, the producers of "Campaign '08" spared no expense, and that upset some TV Turn-Off types in the audience. But let's have some perspective here. A network like ABC or NBC probably spends more money developing, producing and promoting one season of television than the McCain and Obama camps spent getting to Election Night.

And c'mon, admit it: You enjoyed watching this political show more than "Grey's Anatomy" anyway, didn't you?