ABSTRACT
With the coming of television, the modern nation-state became a more moral community. The notions most people have about the effects of television on the selection of political leaders came from journalists like Joe McGinniss and Robert MacNeil, who popularized the belief that television "sells" candidates to the public, just like soap. In the matter of politics, citizens in the modern state make judgments about candidates for political office. Prior to television, people made such decisions largely on the basis of the party to which they belonged or were attracted to. There is yet another way in which television improved the selection of political leaders: It made the selection process more rigorous. By the time Richard Nixon entered the 1968 presidential race, it was perfectly clear that he had learned the lessons taught by his two Democratic predecessors in the White House.
