Why the Media Doesn’t Want to Remember Gary Hart
Matt Bai’s book "All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid" zeroed in on a turning point in American political journalism, now largely forgotten: the way the press pursued Gary Hart, the leading Democratic candidate for President in the 1988 campaign, about his sex life. Ken writes:
A President is in our living rooms daily, and “likeability” matters. Hart’s intensity, aloofness, and admirable sense of privacy won respect, not warmth, Rosenstiel said. Reporters were right to note that Hart was a loner, and that few of his colleagues in the Senate supported him for President. This posed the same question for Hart as it does today for Obama or for Elizabeth Warren: choosing a President involves more than just going through an ideological checklist. Whether candidates also have the political and executive skills—and the patience—to manage a giant enterprise and build a consensus to advance their agendas is equally important.