MISSOURIANS GET SHORT END OF DEBATE STICK

It's a good thing Southeast Missouri State University and KFVS TV-12 were able to organize a debate between the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor of Missouri. Otherwise, anyone in Southeast Missouri who is interested in such debates would have been out of luck for this political season.

Meanwhile, Missouri's U.S. Senate race is generating a lot of interest nationwide. Gov. Mel Carnahan, Democrat, is seeking to replace U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft, Republican. Efforts to arrange a debate in Cape Girardeau between Carnahan and Ashcroft were unsuccessful as staff members bickered over dates.

As a result, outstate Missouri will have virtually no opportunity to see any face-to-face exchange between the two Senate hopefuls. And the large voting population of St. Louis is being denied access because the public-television station there didn't think the debates were interesting enough.

C-SPAN, the channel that broadcasts more political coverage than anyone else, is interested in the Carnahan-Ashcroft debate. C-SPAN said it will likely air the debate between the two Senate contenders, but it won't be live, and C-SPAN isn't exactly sure when the videotaped debate will show up in its programming lineup.

The gubernatorial debate in Cape Girardeau last month was also aired on C-SPAN, but the decision to air it wasn't made until just a few hours before it was broadcast. This meant anyone who was unable to see the live broadcast by KFVS TV-12 would have had to be watching C-SPAN around the clock in hopes of seeing that debate. C-SPAN hasn't indicated any interest in airing another debate between Democrat Bob Holden and Republican Jim Talent.

Both the race for governor and the race for U.S. Senate offer crucial choices for Missouri's voters. What a shame that a combination of lack of interest on the part of broadcast outlets and bickering by campaign staff members have kept as large a number of Missourians as possible from seeing these debates.

Whenever there are complaints about low voter turnout and the fact that too many voters are uninformed when they go to the polls, it might be useful to remember how even interested, active participants in the election process have been denied access to these debates.