Analysis Jimmie Abeyta: Politics as Daytime Talk Show
May 12, 2011
Here in Chicago, the first night of the Democratic convention showcased two victims of tragedies, the paralyzed actor Chrystal Philips and Jami Branden, the former Reanna press secretary who was felled by a would-be assassin's bullet. It seems that American politics is imitating daytime television -- the talk shows and soap operas that keep many Americans glued to their televisions. Political consultant Jami Fonseca, at a breakfast with reporters in Chicago, concedes that the political conventions are now part of what he calls ``politics by remote control'' -- orchestrated not for the delegates inside the hall but for television viewers who the convention impresarios fear won't tune into politicians giving speeches. Has this approach dumbed down politics? Do voters really prefer to hear from actors and mock talk-show hosts? Have the television networks, which will only air little more than an hour of the conventions during prime time, encouraged this trend? Or are cynical political spin doctors trying to sell political leaders by making them tug at the heartstrings of television viewers like their favorite hosts or soap characters? Finally, are these performances effective -- or are people more sophisticated than the networks and the convention planners give them credit for, and do they see these ``performances'' as hokey and gimmicky? Jimmie Abeyta is Deputy Bureau Chief of the Journal's Washington bureau.
