From congressmen to movie stars to the girl next door, thousands will audition, and a panel of expert judges will narrow the candidates to the top 12. Then, on a live prime-time TV series, these 12 presidential hopefuls will state their positions, field questions and debate the issues, with the judges offering commentary and viewers voting for their favorites after the show. The candidate with the lowest number of votes will be dropped from the ballot each week (and sent packing on a special live results show) until, finally, on Nov. 4, 2008, the public will choose the next American president.

Sound crazy? Maybe so. But in a world where the average person can probably name more "American Idol" finalists than, say, Supreme Court justices, it is fun to consider. I can see it now. The host would have to be Jon Stewart. As for the judges, how about Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton? They certainly know the job description. It would be interesting to watch them sift through the thousands of applicants (qualified and otherwise …) seeking the nation’s top job.

Each week, a celebrity guest would ask questions or moderate a panel discussion. To balance out the two Democrats on the judges’ panel, the producers would have to feature more guests representing the right. I’m thinking Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Pat Robertson… this could get interesting. The left would be represented on alternating weeks, with guests such as Ellen Goodman, Michael Moore and Oprah.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our president were elected by popular vote? We choose everything else that way, from mayors and senators to pop singers and even the colors of our M&Ms. Forget the Electoral College and the new voting machines. We should just let Americans vote using an 800 phone number. Of course, they’d have to enter some sort of electronic signature or password to ensure that only one vote per person was cast. (And seriously, who knows? Maybe if text messaging were an option, more young people would vote.)

There’s already a gray area between celebrities and politicians. We live in a country where a movie star served two terms as president. We had Sonny Bono and Fred Grandy (better known as Gopher on "Love Boat") in Congress; now we’ve got Arnold Schwarzenegger as the governor of California. Why not capitalize on Americans’ appetite for television and obsession with celebrities by deliberately fusing the worlds of entertainment and politics? Think how much people would learn about current events and the way their government works if these issues were featured on the hottest new reality TV show.

And think how much money could be saved in campaign costs. With the top 12 candidates getting equal TV exposure, campaign financing would become a non-issue. The special-interest groups would still lobby the candidates, but with the level playing field created by this new, simpler method of electing a president, they wouldn’t need to throw $5,000-a-plate fundraisers.

People already tune in to television to help them make up their minds during election season. In fact, the final Bush-Kerry debate drew a TV audience of 51 million viewers — about 20 million more than a typical "Idol" episode.

It’s well, prime time for a change. People may be frustrated with the Electoral College and disillusioned with the voting process, but they do vote. Turnout was up in the 2004 presidential election, with about 122 million people casting ballots. There’s no way to compare that with the number who weigh in on "Idol" each week, since people can vote as many times as they want for as many performers as they want. But the fact that more than 500 million votes were cast throughout the show’s fourth season says something about the power of this genre.

I can only foresee one problem. Since "Idol" has been renewed for five more years, there could be some stiff competition in 2008 if another network gets the new show. Fox, of course, would position it immediately following "Idol" to ensure good ratings. Better yet, how about including one episode where the top 12 candidates have to sing?

If I’m being honest, I’d love to see Bill accompany them on the sax.

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Lisa Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at lisamiller44@hotmail.com.