Thursday night on Fox Business, John Stossel used about seven minutes of his show to host a “debate” between former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and an actor who impersonates President Obama.

This follows up a similar “debate” that Stossel hosted in April between the Obama impersonator and Rep. Ron Paul.

The idea is that Stossel -- and, presumably, his libertarian-leaning presidential candidates -- couldn't really book a debate with Obama, so an imitation will have to do.

This also calls to mind Stossel's Fox News special from March called Freeloaders, in which he dressed up as a “beggar” and panhandled for change:

(Stossel also spent some time during Freeloaders misleading his viewers about the settlement of a racial discrimination case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture brought by black farmers.)

It's unclear whether Stossel thinks these ideological theatrics will shake up viewers and get them to reconsider their positions, or if they're simply a ploy for ratings. Maybe both?

Whatever they are, it's pretty clear that they're not news.