ABC News Now, channel 114 on Seattle Comcast digital cable.

It’s cable news version 4.0. It’s not trying (yet) to compete for ratings against CNN, Fox, or CNBC/MSNBC. It’s there to give ABC an outlet for long-form coverage of live events without breaking into the main network’s entertainment schedule, and to repurpose the network’s vast archive of interviews and magazine-show segments.

It launched last month with the Democratic convention. Now we get to see its regular schedule. It’s a simple, almost-no-nonsense format. A few original shows throughout the day (such as Inside the Newsroom, where reporters in their shirtsleeves discuss the day’s ongoing events). News briefs at the top of the hour. Clips from recent editions of World News Tonight, Good Morning America, Nightline, 20/20, PrimeTime, and This Week. Simple graphics with no headline “tickers.”

And unfiltered, unedited speeches and testimony by political figures. Some of these are similar to C-SPAN events, covered by the same camera pools. But they can still be quite fascinating.

Today I saw Kerry at a Las Vegas middle school, deftly handling questions about educational funding, public transportation, and the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste dump. He behaved as a thorough professional, shaking hands firmly and giving solid eye contact.

Last night I saw Bush at a Virginia community college, mumbling something about schooling as being vital to the growth in American jobs. His incoherence without a script and his nervous body language made him look like he wanted nothing more than to get the heck outta there and back making deals with big contributors.

ABC only promises to keep ABC News Now going through Election Day. I hope it becomes a permanent fixture. Like a less-snide version of its overnight show World News Now, it’s the work of a bigtime news organization getting to play with a low-budget, low-profile outlet.