ASHINGTON - Leaders of the Commission on Presidential Debates defended their decision to exclude candidates who draw less than 15 percent in national polls, arguing that anyone falling below that threshold doesn't have a realistic shot at the presidency.
The officials offered the response yesterday as third-party candidates Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader complained that they can't win if they are shut out of the high-profile fall debates.
''Our role is not to jump-start your campaign and all of a sudden make you competitive,'' said Paul G. Kirk Jr., cochairman of the commission. ''It's not a perfect analogy, but in sports, people understand you don't make the playoffs unless you start to accumulate enough wins to show you're competitive.''
Neither Nader, of the Green Party, nor Buchanan, of the Reform Party, has come close to 15 percent in national surveys. An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday has Nader at 7 percent and Buchanan at 4 percent. Neither has registered above 5 percent in other national polls.
Commission leaders also defended the use of corporate sponsors to underwrite the debates, each of which costs about $550,000 to stage. The money is raised by local host committees.
Although the Federal Election Commission has approved this spending, Nader argued in a lawsuit filed in US District Court in Boston this week that the donations amount to illegal contributions to the Republican and Democratic parties and their presidential candidates. Buchanan has filed a complaint with the FEC.
Janet Brown, the commission's executive director, said that even though many debate sponsors have spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress, they are simply acting as good citizens in this case.
The corporate sponsors, including AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, and Sun Microsystems, get a handful of debate tickets and their names printed in the program, she said.
''I'd like to pretend there's a huge packet of goodies that I provide them,'' Brown said. ''If you want access (to the candidates), I suggest you find something that's much more effective than what we can offer.''
Nader complains that the commission is controlled by the two major parties because it's headed by Kirk, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, and Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., former Republican National Committee chairman.
That, Nader argues, explains why it's requiring candidates to achieve 15 percent in the polls.
Kirk and Fahrenkopf defended the 15 percent threshold, saying it's not unrealistic for a third-party candidate. George Wallace in 1968, John Anderson in 1980, and Ross Perot in 1992 each achieved 15 percent at some point during the race, they said.
The commission will reassess each candidate's strength before each debate, meaning someone could miss the first one but join in a subsequent meeting if their poll numbers improve.
The commission also released details of the debate formats, although the campaigns may negotiate changes. Three presidential debates are scheduled for Oct. 3 in Boston, Oct. 11 in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Oct. 17 in St. Louis. The vice presidential debate is Oct. 5 in Danville, Ky.
The sites are not negotiable, Kirk said, given that preparations are under way. The dates, which were chosen to avoid the Olympics, the World Series, and other big events, are also set.
Each debate will last 90 minutes, include a balance of international and domestic issues, use one moderator, and encourage direct exchanges between the candidates.
Proposed formats include a town hall-style event with the audience asking questions, seating the candidates at a table with the moderator, and the more traditional format where candidates stand behind podiums.
The candidates can negotiate for the format they prefer. ''We hope this will avoid much of the debate about debates,'' Kirk said.
