Healing the Nation
I can’t figure out if this is a clever ploy or the nadir of American politics: Bush and Kerry are going on Dr. Phil. Well, you can’t expect them on Oprah anymore, because she doesn’t do that kind of show; too busy interviewing Gwyneth and handing out cars, I guess. Dr. Phil? If you’re Bush, you go on because you’re from Texas and have two children who are out of control. If you’re Kerry, you go on because Bush did, so you have to pander to the pseudo-intellectual Jerry Springer set or lose their votes to Bush. Look, Dr. Phil’s got his function on television, and I suppose he does it well enough and even, often enough, to good effect. But Presidential politics isn’t the same thing as touting your latest movie with Jennifer Lopez, so I’m not really amused by appearances on the late-night talk shows either, regardless of whether the candidate carries it off well or not. Gore smashing Pentagon ashtrays on Letterman is funny, but it isn’t going to educate anyone about policies, including policies to cut government spending. Nobody’s listening to the jabber on these shows or in the advertisements, except for what they already believe or expect, like those cartoons with the dog: “blah blah blah Ginger blah blah.”