Reach Out and Elect Someone

My comments today relate to the article that was posted on wiki about the South Carolina debate:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=148213&title=south-carolina-debate&tag=generic_tag_hillary_clinton&itemId=104903

If you didn't get a chance to check it out, look at it before you continue reading, otherwise you won't understand what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I thought that it was interesting how all three candidates appeared. From the way they dressed to their behavior, all of it was scripted by their "image handlers" (as they are called). I learned this word from a Telecommunications professor during her presentation about politics in the media. She explained how these image handlers control how the candidates appear to the audience, in other words, to us. Postman writes on page 24, "He understood that in a world of television and other visual media 'political knowledge' means having pictures in your head more than having words." Here Postman is referring to the way in which candidates appear in order to win over the viewers. It doesn't matter as much about what they said in the debate, as long as they appeared to be the leader, the most intelligent and passionate about the topic, and genuinely clean and well-kept.
According to my professor, Besti Grabe, visuals are far more important than words. In this case and in the case Postman is trying to make, this is clearly true. Certain roles are depicted by our candidates in order to appear a certain way- the way the audience wants them to appear. Of course we all want someone attractive and clean-looking who just so happens to be pretty intelligent here and now about the issue at large. There have been studies done to prove that certain depictions are more effective than others such as: the ideal candidate in which they are presented as the "Statesman" or the "Compassionate." Usually these candidates are seen with flags, confetti, patriotism, depictions of family and God, and the whole "kissing baby" scam. Another role often played by candidates is the popular "Mass Appeal" or the "Ordinary," in which they are portrayed along side celebrities and a large audience or casually dressed to show they are down to earth and can relate to us poor folk. These are good ways to portray candidates, but aren't always who they really are. Image is everything and that is the point Postman is trying to make in his article Reach Out and Elect Someone. I completely agree with him in this example of all three candidates during the South Carolina debate. They are all appearing to be taking on a certain role.
In contrast to making someone look good, the media can also make a candidate look bad. Postman made a comment in a recent article about how photographs have no room for debate and cannot be taken out of context. Here I disagree with him. Hillary Clinton is sometimes depicted as a "cold bitch" when images are shown of her being fierce. This always pisses me off because if she were a man, then these pictures would just make her look strong and the type of leader we want. In this example, I disagree with Postman in that the image is taken out of context.

However, the main point to my argument is that the image is still the most important factor. This I am in agreement with Postman.