The operative maxim in cable television can be summed up as follows: Is it good teevee?
Brilliant is good, but not enough. Attractive is imperative, but not enough. Also needed are tension, conflict and passion. Television is visual storytelling and it doesn't succeed without all elements working in sync with the additional demands of the human eye.
Keep this in mind as you consider politics and, specifically, the debates of late. We require that our leaders not only be well informed, but also telegenic and fluent in sound bites and snappy comebacks. The lesson first observed during the televised Kennedy-Nixon debate -- that the visual matters most of all -- has become more acute as digital technology has made "replay" immortal.
Now we judge a candidate's worthiness for public office as much according to his stage performance as by his plan to balance the budget. Scorecards include hair, makeup, wardrobe and body language. In other words, the leader of the free world has to be someone we want to watch. Is he or she good teevee?
