NBC wins, debate gets a bit more boring

NBC had a debate last night for the Democratic candidates for president. At first, it had invited Dennis Kucinich, only to un-invite him shortly thereafter. Kucinich then went to court to force NBC to include him in the debate, and the judge agreed. NBC then appealed that to the supreme court of Nevada, and won. The debate had 3 people in the end: Clinton Obama and Edwards. Why did NBC invested so much effort to keep him out of the debate? The opening remarks by one of the moderators said something like 'the field is narrowed down to 3 candidates and this debate, for the first time, has only those 3'

Despite what was said, Kucinich is still in the race. He hasn't dropped out like Biden Dodd and Richardson. He has said he will stay in the race the whole way through. Whether or not he has strong support, I think anyone who is officially in the race should be allowed in the debates.

Was it really worth that much effort, of going to court to fight it, rather than just let him in?

A fun fact for you: Tim Russert was one of the moderators at the debate, he was also the person who asked Kucinich the UFO question at a previous debate (on the same network).

Update 1: WIth the wonders of video technology, you can now watch what the debate would have been if Kucinich was in it.

Update 2: Some people interrupt Jay Leno yelling about Kucinich