If running for president were a game show, it might well look like this: There are issues to discuss, but there are also tasks such as the one Malia Lazu had to accomplish this week. Organize a kickoff rally in two days, she was told. If the turnout is too low, you could be eliminated.

That's the way it's played on the reality television series "American Candidate," a faux-presidential race set to premiere on Showtime Aug. 1. And this is also life for Lazu, 27, who founded the voter-participation group Boston Vote and learned last week that she and about nine others made the final cut, out of 1,500 applicants.

The show's publicists suggest, rather earnestly, that the winner could launch a bona fide presidential candidacy. And for the past two days, Lazu has been wading through the rituals of reality television and leading the sometimes humbling life of a politician. She answered the doorbell Monday to find a black briefcase containing her first task. She trolled Downtown Crossing and the Prudential Center, begging people to show up at Slade's Bar and Grill in the South End.

There were some promising signs. She drew support from some real-life political figures, who seemed happy to play along: Councilor Felix Arroyo, who shouted, "Who is the person in this nation who can make a difference for you?" (Answer: "Malia!") and state Senator Dianne Wilkerson, who declared that Lazu had already "changed the face and the course of our politics."

Finally, Lazu took the microphone, promising "not just to change the game but to flip it." The crowd cheered wildly. Lazu beamed.

It's not clear whether her candidacy will continue. But for a moment at least, it seemed almost real.