Lisa de Moraes
Lisa de Moraes
The TV Column

Jon Stewart, Bill O’Reilly ready to rumble

Peter Kramer/AP/FILE - Jon Stewart, left, of Comedy Central's “Daily Show,” left, and and Bill O'Reilly of Fox News’s “O’Reilly Factor” will live-stream their debate.

Because there just aren’t enough debates in this election cycle — and because when TV on-air pundits cover presidential elections, it really is All About Them — two debates have been announced in the past few days that don’t involve the candidates.

On Tuesday, Jon Stewart’s Busboy Productions and Bill O’Reilly’s Straight Talk companies announced that for just $4.95, you can live-stream a faceoff between the Comedy Central faux newsman and the Fox News Channel prime-time host, which will be Oct. 6 at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium.

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Pulitzer Prize winner, Peabody recipient, Medal of Freedom honoree -- Lisa de Moraes is none of these, but she is an authority on the bad direction, over-acting, and muddled plot lines being played out in the TV industry's executive suites.

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Stewart and O’Reilly — the Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler of TV political punditry — will argue about Obama and Romney for 90 minutes. If you’d like to attend in person, tickets for “The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium” are a mere $75 to $100 (except for a “limited number” of $25 student tickets) and — oops! Never mind. Looks as though the event’s already sold out.

Half the net profits from The Rumble 2012 will be donated by Stewart and O’Reilly to “a number of charitable causes,” Tuesday’s announcement said.

The Rumble is being held three days after the first presidential debate between President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney. It’s also just five days before the debate between the VPOTUS candidates, Vice President Biden and Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan.

It’s also four days after radio talk-show host (and new Dish satellite personality) Glenn Beck will square off in debate with Current TV prime-time anchor Eliot Spitzer. “War of the Words,” as Dish is calling it, will be the night before the first debate between Actual Candidates Obama and Romney — in the same city, Denver.

The Beck/Spitzer debate, Dish explained, will be an opportunity for the TV personalities “to discuss the first presidential debate” — before the presidential debate has taken place.

Dish’s debate announcement coincided with its announcement that you could purchase Beck’s the Blaze online video, and Current TV, on various Dish packages, a la carte, for just five bucks a month, starting later this month. The debate will be streamed live on Facebook.

Ann Romney on ‘GMA’?

Romney’s wife, Ann, may fill in for Robin Roberts one day next month on ABC News’s “Good Morning America” — and there’s still a slim chance that first lady Michelle Obama may pitch in, as well.

An ABC News spokesman confirmed to The TV Column that Ann Romney is a possibility to fill in for Roberts in the show’s 8 a.m. hour one day in October.

Meanwhile, “every effort is being made” to schedule the first lady to do the same, the rep said, though her appearance is very much up in the air.

Roberts exited the show temporarily Aug. 30 to undergo a bone marrow transplant, which is scheduled for this week. She revealed on the show in June that she has MDS, a blood and bone marrow disease. Roberts underwent chemotherapy before the transplant, the Associated Press reported this week.

Ann Romney would join Comedy Central late-night star Stephen Colbert, the cast of the ABC comedy “Modern Family,” Rob Lowe, Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer and others who are filling in for co-host Roberts.

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