NEW YORK - With the major networks and cable news stations all slated to air the first debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney in primetime Wednesday night, NBC has made the last-minute decision to preempt the debate, choosing instead to show unaired episodes of their much-maligned sitcom Whitney during the same time slot.
     "There are plenty of stations TV viewers can choose from to watch the debate, but only one network will have Whitney, and that's NBC," said CEO Steve Burke.  "We're hoping to draw in viewers with no interest in the election - stupid people who will appreciate Whitney Cummings' shallow attempts at humor and find something approaching sex appeal underneath all that plastic surgery."  He added, "We know what we're doing."

     While the first presidential debate of 2008 was seen by over 50 million viewers,Whitney averaged roughly five million viewers each week last year.  Despite the numbers, Burke says airing Whitney is a calculated risk.
     "We've got high hopes for Whitney as it comes back for season two.  Rather than hear the two major candidates for president contrast their competing visions for governance in America, we're betting our viewers would rather watch Whitney manipulate her husband into revealing his Internet password after catching him on the computer at three in the morning."
     On a different medium, NPR has also decided to forgo debate coverage, and instead will air an Eddie Money retrospective.