Buchanan and Nader are not going to win the presidential election. There are definitely many reasons why, but the sad thing is, they have been discounted before the votes have been cast.

A committee, comprised entirely of Democrats and Republicans, opted not to invite either third-party candidate to join the debates because Nader and Buchanan didn't fill all of their requirements.

One of the requirements is that a candidate must have support from at least 15 percent of the electorate. That's an enormous number for a third-party candidate to muster. With that rule in place, there is little chance that the United States will ever see a third-party candidate in a debate.

There is nothing democratic about allowing the parties in power to dictate whether third parties get recognized at debates. Just eight years ago, Ross Perot was cordially invited by both parties to join the Bush-Clinton debates. The whim of the parties isn't in the Green and Reform parties' favor this year.

However, these third-party candidates would add input that would shape the topics discussed, or at least contrast with the views of the major party candidates. Nader and Buchanan's presence this year would force Al Gore and George W. Bush to address the far left and far right. It would make it more difficult for them to cling to the middle ground, as they do now.

People say in polls that they feel there are no choices in the political scene. Allowing Nader and Buchanan to speak might just jazz things up a bit.

A viable candidate who is on the ballot of a large number of states and who has been garnering at least one percent of the vote in polls should be permitted to debate with the major party candidates.

Giving these smaller parties such high-profile attention would help create a regular voter base as parties return in subsequent elections, thereby creating some drama in the elections. As it stands, Bush and Gore struggle so hard to gain the middle ground that it's hard to see them as two separate options.

The political system needs to be taken by the shoulders and shaken. Because Nader and Buchanan have nothing to lose, they can afford to take a stance and challenge the other two.

As they stand now, political debates are about as fun to watch as root canal surgery. They make the weather channel look interesting.