The Tube

It seems like politicians may just have discovered this magical thing called a television.

Ok so they've been using TV to promote themselves for years. However, this year self promotion through the televisual format has reached new heights. First off the British have decided to just go right ahead and copy the American format for holding live debates in the run up to the elections. It's sort of like Question Time but more formal with pre-prepared answers and two of the most powerful people in politics taking personal swipes at each other face-to-face. It also makes guys like Joe the Plumber famous. This decision led to a whole string of suggestions for TV-based politics with Simon Cowell even suggesting elections be held in an X-Factor style format - uh thanks SC but no thanks - that's pushing popular participation to the ridiculous extremes of desperation.

Secondly Obama took American political TV (which I though couldn't be pushed much further) and totally raised the bar by hosting a live health care summit broadcast worldwide on TV and the Internet! Now if anyone wants to deny that this man has reformed honesty within politics then go right ahead but seriously dude has a case. In seriousness using such a public forum did enable a significantly larger proportion of everyday Americans to understand the health care bill and the arguments both for and against it, alongside how it would be practically implemented. With such a revolutionary piece of legislation I believe making all attempts to inform the public are essential particularly in the run up to Mid-term elections in which a key issue will be health care reform. The elections may well give some indication of the effect of the televised summit and I for one will be sure to pay attention.

So it's back to you. What do you think of seeing your trusted representatives faces plastered across your TV screens? Does it make them seem slimy and further unrelatable? And in all honesty does it help you understand which policies you are actually voting for come election day? I for one am a huge advocate of politicians putting themselves out to both public scrutiny and public understanding.