This isn't new. For those of us with a long memory, Nixon in 1968 did the same thing. Having been burned in 1960, he avoided debating Humphrey and Wallace (because he and Wallace were going after the same voters), instead buying time on TV for an "ask the candidate" program, what we would call an "infomercial" today. Even had Roger Ailes producing it.

That's all this was. Same audience, just 55 years later. Lawrence O'Donnell's book "Playing With Fire," explores the parallels between then and now. "Nixonland" by Rick Pearlstein is the definitive read on how Nixon rebounded after "you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."

Of course, this only reinforces the adage "It all goes back to Nixon."