Short of anointing a dancing bear in a clown suit as its presidential nominee, the Reform Party has pulled every other trick possible. Rather than being a cohesive voice for the wide political base left unserved by the Republican and Democratic parties, Ross Perot's brainchild has resorted to novelty candidates.

Apparently, having a party headlined by celebrities, kooks and discredited outcasts attracts more attention than building one based on ideas. While this might be true-Americans seem a lot more willing to vote for Michael Jordan than they were for Michael Dukakis-following this strategy assures the Reformers will never become more than an amusing sideshow.

If your platform (or in this case, lack of a platform) fails to captivate the electorate, give them someone with a high recognition factor. It seems that ideas, experience or even a real interest in holding the office if elected have become secondary.

Never mind that voting for a presidential candidate simply because you recognize his name is like marrying someone because you already have matching towels. The public wants familiar faces, and whether it's Warren Beatty, Cybill Shepherd or George "The Animal" Steele, a certain amount of Americans vote for fame over substance.

Employing the tactic of drafting a famous person as a candidate was perhaps most famously employed by New York's Green Party, which drafted Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis as its mayoral candidate. This, as you might imagine, immediately sapped any credibility the fledgling party had. Grandpa Munster might have exactly the same left-wing, save-a-tree, hug-a-dolphin views as the Green Party, but placing him on the ballot turns a serious (albeit misguided) political position into a joke.

Similarly, the Reform Party efforts at drafting a celebrity candidate threaten to further weaken a group already perceived as marginal. With one barely sane megalomaniac currently involved in party leadership, the Reform party needs a second one like the Red Sox need another weak-hitting outfielder.

By toying with the idea of Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, or yet another run by the unelectable, barely intelligible, clearly deranged Texas billionaire, the Party risks squandering any public trust it still has. Admittedly, an organization founded by an amusing lunatic with an insatiable appetite for appearing on Larry King has almost nothing to lose, but despite its auspicious beginnings, the Reform Party had made some strides.

The American public has shown a willingness to leave the cozy but restrictive confines of its two main parties. For some, this means suicide missions backing single-issue candidates. But while a party in favor of legally mandating a revival of Battlestar Galactica, or one attempting to make bringing children to an R-rated movie a capital offense, will attract some people, the real need remains for an open-minded third party.

The Reform Party, despite its beginnings as Perot's ego-driven publicity stunt, had that chance. Instead, its leaders seem intent on being the third-rate circus that attracts attention by stapling an ice cream cone to the head of a goat and calling it a unicorn.