After all, Richard Nixon’s race against John Kennedy in 1960 is said to have been lost on television: Kennedy looked cool and handsome, while Nixon scowled into the camera, with sweat trickling down his five o’clock shadow. In his debates with Ronald Reagan in 1980, Jimmy Carter came across as smug and humorless, and Reagan as a friendly old uncle.
这些“现象”可以具有极大的重要性。毕竟，据说尼克松在1960年输给肯尼迪的原因就是败在了电视上：肯尼迪看起来又酷又帅，而尼克松在镜头前摆出一副苦瓜脸，胡渣满脸，不停地流汗。在1980年的竞选辩论中，卡特一副缺少幽默感的书呆子相，而里根看起来像是位面善大叔。结果卡特败下阵来。