Debate on Capitol Hill? Disagreement within the Statehouse? It’s nothing compared to the back-and-forth inside the NBC4 newsroom as we searched for a name for the new political program we are bringing to our viewers.

I could not muster support for my plan to call it “Strange Bedfellows.” It’s a perfectly good title, plucked from a famous quote from 19th century American essayist Charles Dudley Warner, who believed political interests can bring together people who otherwise have little in common. He said, “Politics makes strange bedfellows.” Warner adapted a line from The Tempest written by no less than William Shakespeare himself: “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.”

I’m sure you remember it from high school. That line is delivered by a man who has been shipwrecked and finds himself seeking shelter beside a sleeping monster. What could possibly be better than a title that had its start with Shakespeare? Do you know what our Web guru, Denise Yost, had to say about my brilliant idea? “People will think it’s a porn site.”

I lost the battle, but found a name that is more representative of the program we hope to create: The Spectrum. A spectrum is defined as a broad range of varied but related ideas or objects that tend to overlap into a continuous series or sequence.

In the American political context, a spectrum refers to the vast differences in ideology between the major political parties – Democrats traditionally positioned on the left, Republicans to the right. We want to examine those differences, discuss them, dissect them, determine where they meet in the middle and help you decide who best represents your position on the spectrum.

Our Director of Digital Journalism, Ike Walker, along with Chris Booker, the manager of Content Acquisition (I’m still trying to figure out those titles!) and I have been feverishly working on a format for the Sunday morning program. We want to interview political newsmakers, those you will see on the ballot and the powerful men and women behind the scenes who make vital decisions that impact the way government works.

We are bringing together political analysts and fellow political journalists, such as our own Patrick Preston, for insightful discussions on the issues of the day. We are also teaming up with our talented Web crew led by Yost, the Multimedia Content manager (and these people don’t like the titles I come up with?!). Our political portal is www.OhioVotes2010.com and it will give you details on upcoming elections, help you find your own ballot, provide important fact-checks, include videos from political stories and offer interactive features that will allow you to ask questions and share your ideas.

The site will give you access to stories and programs you might have missed. We want to be your place for politics, and we want you to help us create a broad spectrum of possibilities.

The Web team is also helping me launch my political blog, which is a companion to The Spectrum. Maybe a future blog will feature a quote from another famous American essayist and humorist, Groucho Marx, who said, “Politics doesn’t make strange bedfellows – marriage does.”

Colleen Marshall hosts The Spectrum, Sundays at 6 a.m. on NBC4 and co-anchors NBC4 at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.