Some folks insist that character counts. In the high roller environment of TV filtered presidential politics, I am not so sure it is character as much as a facade of character, that really counts with the voters.

I think most voters are resigned to hype. Even if the picture on the packaging is an idealization of the actual contents, most consumers won’t balk for as long as it bears some relationship to the product being represented. We all know that the picture on packages of frozen cheescake always look better than than the actual thing, but we do expect to find some kind of cheesecase inside the box. Toys are depicted in fantasy situations on the box but we do expect to find an actual toy within.

But when the legend varies from reality by so wide a margin as to have no conceivable relationship then we are in trouble. It’s like opening a can of spaghetti and finding, not even spaghetti of the worst quality, but something other than spaghetti. Sludge or something. Then we are past hype and into a swindle.

For as long as political hype does not deliver a traitor in the guise of a patriot or a thief packaged as a reformer the public is Ok. After all, their expectations are low. All most want is a reasonable honest, acceptably intelligent and mostly patriotic politician. They’ll settle for minimal competence, just don’t hand them a disaster.