The exclusion of third parties from political debates is something that has been institutionalized in our country during the past 20 years. In 1988, the League of Women Voters ceased sponsoring the televised presidential debates saying that they have become "devoid of substance, spontaneity, and honest answers to tough questions." Walter Cronkite called the two-party debates an "unconscionable fraud." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls them a "mockery."

In a press conference last month in support of third parties, Congressman Ron Paul stated that he has "come to the conclusion, after having spent many years in politics, that our presidential elections turn out to be more of a charade than anything else." The elections and debates only cover a narrow range of issues and solutions. As history has shown, the two major parties have often sidelined major issues that we take for granted today.

Consumer advocate and Peace and Freedom Party presidential nominee Ralph Nader has pointed out that "the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, Social Security, fair labor standards, and protection of farmers were all first championed by third parties. The mainstream ultimately adopted these 'marginal' issues, and we are better for it. The legacy of third-party candidates in American history is not that of 'spoilers' but of visionaries."

The first step we need to take as a country is to open the debates in order to diversify the dialogue that ought to occur for American voters to make an informed decision. Former Democratic Congresswoman and current Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney believes that "voters deserve to know which candidate best represents their interests and ideals. Any presidential candidate who is on enough ballots to be elected deserves to participate."

She is referring to a solution to the debate exclusion problem that many third party members advocate. As long as a candidate has overcome the restrictive ballot access laws in enough states to account for over half of the electoral votes, she or he ought to be included in the televised presidential debates. If this were the case in 2008, the debates would include Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin, Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr, Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney and independent candidate Ralph Nader. If you factor in the states in which they are write-in candidates, they each account for over 90 percent of the electoral votes. In fact, a Zogby poll reflected these sentiments showing that nearly three out of five Americans want third parties included in presidential debates.

With the election less than a month away, it is more crucial now than at any other point in the election season to inform ourselves of all our choices for our commander in chief. For more information on the nationwide campaign to open the debates, please visit www.opendebates.org.

The Students for Ron Paul at Berkeley, Cal Libertarians, Campus Greens–Berkeley Chapter, and Students for Ralph Nader at Berkeley also encourage you to visit each candidate's Web site. Chuck Baldwin (write-in): www.baldwin08.com; Bob Barr (Libertarian): www.bobbarr2008.com; Cynthia McKinney (Green): http://votetruth08.com; Ralph Nader (Peace and Freedom): www.votenader.org.