At one lectern will be Republican candidate Arnold Vinick, played by Alan Alda; at the other, Democratic challenger Matt Santos, portrayed by Jimmy Smits. The Emmy-winning actors will square off live as newsman Forrest Sawyer "moderates" their characters' showdown on the NBC drama series "The West Wing" Sunday, Nov. 6. As with the live season premiere of NBC's "Will & Grace," the episode will be staged twice: first for the Eastern half of the country, then again for the Western half.

Vinick and Santos are vying to succeed President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen), and "The West Wing" itself is campaigning to recover from a ratings dip since it moved to Sunday from its former Wednesday slot. Its first-ever live broadcast is a good way to focus attention back on the show, and both Alda and Smits are up to the challenge -- for the most part.

Jimmy Smits: When I first talked to John [Wells, the show's executive producer] about it, I said, "Oh, so we'll go back and forth between the control room and backstage and show people watching the debate." He went, "No. We're going to have a debate for real, just like it would be."

Alan Alda: It'll be scripted, but it'll be live. I think we're going to be in the same position real presidential candidates are in, having to have a grasp of a wide range of material that affects national and international policies.

Zap2it: How are you preparing?

Alda: Those people [in real debates] know what they're going to say about every issue. It's written in advance, and all they have to do is turn the question into the answer they want to give. We have a little advantage in knowing what the question is, although we may not recognize it. The moderator may phrase it differently.

Smits: We've gotten a lot of DVDs on the last two cycles of [actual presidential] debates, and we had somebody come in to talk about how media-savvy the candidates have become ... where you look in terms of the camera, how you use your hands, etc. Even when you're not talking, you have to be "on" all the time. A picture's worth a thousand words.

Zap2it: Does the prospect of doing the episode live make you nervous?

Alda: There's a tremendous difference between just learning your lines at home and doing them in front of the camera a few times, and getting to rehearse for two weeks and letting it all sink into deeper parts of your brain. It requires a different use of your acting skills, and of your mind.

Smits: I just have to do it like a play. That's where I come from, and that's where I live and breathe. Just get the script to me in advance, let's rehearse, and I'll be fine.

Zap2it: Any worries about handling all that political terminology live?

Smits: We're gonna do it, but it's a lot of words! Not that I'm not politically savvy, but when it comes to doing ad-libs ... this is one of those instances where the character is a lot smarter than the real-life person is. I don't know how much I can vamp.

Alda: They may actually surprise us at the last minute. There may be a question or two that we don't expect. I hope there will be.

Smits(upon hearing Alda's response): Ohhhhh ... ooooh. If that's the case, I'll just have to have little cards that say, "Stay on message."