Linda Ellerbee: The Kids Are All Right

From an 11-year-old's point of view, the difference between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama is almost nil. The war? Both candidates want to end it. Health care? They'll give you subsidies. Global warming? It's really, really bad. And their favorite childhood Halloween costume? Argh, matey—both were pirates.

So they say in Nickelodeon News' Oct. 12 presidential debate, in which each candidate has a separate, taped response to a list of kid-created questions—and in which they sound eerily similar. And while young viewers obviously won't be going to the polls on Nov. 4th, what they make of the two men does carry some weight when hundreds of thousands of kids will choose a candidate and vote in Nickelodeon's week-long mock election after the special. After all, in four of the last five presidential elections, kids have correctly "elected" the president two weeks before the real McCoy.

For Nick News anchor Linda Ellerbee, those tough choices are just part of the electoral politics she's covered for years. A veteran broadcast journalist who covered Washington and presidential elections for NBC News, Ellerbee has spent nearly 20 years at the helm of Nick News, which has won three Emmys since its inception. She spoke with NEWSWEEK's Sarah Ball about those pirates, 19-year-old burnouts and the intellectual firepower (or lack thereof) of this year's candidates:

NEWSWEEK: They sound like the same guy, don't they?
Linda Ellerbee: They do agree on the goals—it's how they're going to get there that's the difference. In some ways, they are more alike than they are different. The astounding thing—mind you, they have not seen each other's answers—was when they both said their favorite Halloween costume was a pirate. It's like, wait a minute—are you guys calling each other?

I guess all little boys like being pirates. Or all little boys who become politicians are pirates for Halloween first. What does that tell you? Should we be worried?

Do kids sense if answers sound canned or contrived?
By this point in the election, when you say 'Iraq,' the canned answer comes out. You say health insurance, and boom. Which is why my favorite questions are the ones like the kid who asks about getting chosen last for the team. To that, Obama said, you just got to keep showing up, and McCain said, to prove them wrong by being better. Those are always the most insightful things that come out.

And when they equivocate?
We've always seen this: 'Senator-Mayor-Whatever, I want to ask you about apples.' And then senator-mayor-whatever says, 'I am so glad you asked me about apples! Let me tell you about oranges.' We deal with this all the time as journalists, but I must say the vice-presidential debate was the first time I saw a candidate actually acknowledge it and say , 'I'm not going to answer your question.' Really? Okay, well, I guess it's nice to know up front.