Larry King Moderating 3rd-Party Debate

The third-party presidential candidates snagged a pretty well-known host for their debate next week: Larry King. King will moderate a debate between Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson on Oct. 23 in Chicago, the Los Angeles Times reports. Digital programming service Ora TV will stream the debate live—and, as the Times amusingly notes, "for unclear reasons, Russia Today will also stream the debate online."

"We are honored to have Larry King moderate this historic debate," says the founder and chair of the Free and Equal Elections Foundation in a press release. "The previous debates between President Obama and Gov. Romney have failed to address the issues that really concern everyday Americans. From foreign policy, to the economy, to taboo subjects like our diminishing civil liberties and the drug war, Americans deserve a real debate, real solutions, and real electoral options." The Times notes that activists have pushed for third-party candidates to be included in official debates since at least 1987. Stein was arrested at the Hofstra debate last night. (More Larry King stories.)