What qualities should one look for in a presidential candidate? Since the advent of television, many Americans seem to have decided that presidents should be selected on the basis of their personality and image: how they come across on television. The way many Americans choose presidents today marks a sharp departure from the past. While personality and image were always important factors, they were usually not decisive until TV came along.* Before TV, voters placed a high emphasis on a candidate's resume and political party affiliation.In the current polarized political climate party affiliation, to be sure, is still important. But how voters pick their party is different from in the past when economic considerations drove their decision.** Today it is often cultural factors that shape a voter's preference for a party rather than, say, membership in a union.Studies conducted by the University of Michigan demonstrate that voters today often know less about the issues than their counterparts forty years ago. Several factors are responsible for this decline. Three stand out: (1)television, which transmits emotion well but not information, (2) the weakness of the party system, which formerly helped voters identify particular parties with particular policies, and (3) the collape of the union movement, which formerly helped educate voters about the issues.
