A Political Feast

As Election Day approaches, television viewers can expect a variety of special programs designed to cover the machinations of the campaign and to provide information about the candidates themselves.

Tonight at 7, CNN begins the second half of its special series on the election, “The Battle to Lead,” with profiles of vice presidential contenders Dan Quayle and Al Gore.

The series, which is paid for by a grant from the Markle Foundation and will be presented PBS-style, without commercials, will focus Oct. 18 on Gov. Bill Clinton, and Oct. 25 on President Bush.

The cable network will continue airing its daily, half-hour election news program “Inside Politics ‘92,” at 1:30 and 9:30 p.m.

CNN continues its “Democracy in America” series with the last three parts of “Promises, Promises: The Candidates and the Economy” airing at 7 p.m. the next three Tuesdays.

PBS is planning a number of specials. On Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. the public network will present an hourlong profile of the Democratic Party, and on Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. PBS will profile the Republican Party. Both will be hosted by pundits David Gergen and Ben Wattenberg.

Also on Oct. 16, at 10 p.m., PBS will broadcast “Move Over: Women and the ’92 Campaign,” about the role of women in this year’s races for the Presidency and Congress.

On Oct. 20 at 9 p.m., “Frontline,” the public network’s documentary program, will look at campaign finances with “The Best Campaign Money Can Buy.” The program will be hosted by CBS and PBS correspondent Robert Krulwich, and was produced in cooperation with the San Francisco-based Center for Investigative Reporting.

On Oct. 21, “Frontline” will air “The Choice,” a two-hour special that looks at the history and beliefs of Bush and Clinton.

“Democracy in Action,” which airs on PBS Oct. 23 at 10 p.m., will look at the election through the eyes of two visitors from Russia.

The series “Health Quarterly” will look at the positions on health-care issues offered by Democrats and Republicans in a program scheduled for 9 p.m. Oct. 26.

In addition, the public network is planning for the first time in its history to air live coverage on election night, Nov. 3. PBS’ “MacNeil Lehrer NewsHour” will also present a special on Wednesday Nov. 4, the night after the election, called “The Next Four Years.”

ABC has not scheduled special programs, but through Election Day plans to devote about 20%of its evening newscasts to the candidates’ records and proposals. And through Election Eve, “Nightline” will be campaign-themed on Monday nights, with Jeff Greenfield anchoring the coverage.

NBC is also considering airing election specials, but final decisions about them had not been made at press time.