Modern politics have deteriorated at a rapid pace since the introduction of televised coverage. Today appearances are everything. You hear that presidential candidates are more likely to win if they are taller, better looking, a better speaker, blah, blah, blah. It's gotten to the point that you can get probable election projections from TMZ.
To highlight the absurdity of this truth, I wanted to share some folks we'd have missed out on if TV predated the republic.
John Adams. First VP, second President, ambassador extraordinaire, heavily influenced the Declaration of Independence. Short and fat, newspapers of his day called him "His Rotundity". Would have never been elected in this climate.
Thomas Jefferson. First Secretary of State, second VP, ambassador extraordinaire, author of the Declaration of Independence, gifted architect, ok, due to limited space, let's just say that he was the smartest man ever born on this continent. While he stood 6 inches taller than the average man of his day, he was a weak speaker and even refused to speak before Congress, opting to mail his State of the Union addresses to them. He would have never been considered for a party's nomination today.
James Madison. Almost as smart as Jeff...ok, let's not get carried away but the guy WAS brilliant. Father of the Constitution and the only sitting president to ever physically engage an enemy in battle - he fired a cannon at British forces attacking DC. He was 5'4" and about 100 pounds. You do the math.
Alexander H. Stephens. Congressman and governor of Georgia. VP of the CSA, successful attorney and benefactor to numerous college students. He was 5'9" and about 100 pounds. He looked like death eating a soda cracker and reportedly had a shrill, high-pitched voice that could not be heard over a crowd. Not exactly JFK.
Even Abe Lincoln himself once retorted "If I had two faces do you really think I'd be wearing this one?"
I could go on and on. The point is, before we sensationalized politics, people were judged on substance, on issues, on things that mattered. Now people are judged on height, weight, age, "gravitas", skin color, religion, alleged birthplace, whatever.
Who have we missed out on that could have helped our present condition?
How can we expect politicians to take politics seriously when votes are doled out with such superficial standards and at what point do we begin to take candidates seriously based on policy?
