Democrats need to factor into their calculations the fact that presumptive GOP President nominee Senator John McCain is totally relaxed and comes across as quite likable in front of the TV cameras.
Just watch this exchange from a few days on David Letterman’s Show. First, Letterman delivers his zingers and then McCain. The jokes are obviously prepared but note (a) the pizazz with which McCain delivers his opening line, delivered as well as any actor can do it. (b) the ease with which he reads the teleprompter, not looking into it all the time.
The TV tube loves McCain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbnwir88g_4
But, then again, several years ago he showed he could wow them on Saturday Night Live with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLjHKMBZ1ik
And this parody of John Ashcroft (complete with wig)
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.