Veterans, MTV, and the Associated Press will all get together on Thursday to have a “candid discussion” (MTV) about the ongoing war in Iraq with the democratic Presidential hopefuls. Scheduled to last only one hour, the special will take up considerably less time than a standard democratic debate, and will air at the abysmal time of 6 pm EST (when it’s almost certain only about twenty people will catch it). The broadcast will be shown on all MTV-named channels (too numerous to list) and will be streamed across almost two thousand Web sites.

The sit-down discussion with Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is part of the Choose or Lose effort, geared toward getting the 18 to 30 set to vote. The special will take place in Pennsylvania, where a primary will be held April 22. MTV research indicates that those aged from 18 to 24 are most concerned with Iraq, with 6 out of 10 in this group personally knowing at least one person who has actively served in the war.

The event is to be commercial-free, words which frighten me because I’m sure the product placement from MTV will be off the charts. John McCain was also invited to participate, but scheduling conflicts caused him to beg off.