As the age of television progresses the Reagans will be the rule, not the exception. To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that modern presidents must conform to the expectations of television media to be seen as successful.
Gore Vidal's quote reflects on the evolution of leadership in the age of television, indicating that the public persona of political figures has become increasingly important. As the medium of television dominates public perception, politicians like the Reagans exemplify how style and image can overshadow substantive qualities, leading to a scenario where being visually appealing is crucial for a president's success.
In practice
This quote can be used in a political commentary to discuss the impact of media on leadership.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
Every Senator in this Chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This Chamber reeks of blood.
We've been saying Putin is a dictator for years who doesn't care about the law.
The corporations are powerful only because we have allowed them to be. In theory, it is we, not they, who mandate the state. But we have neglected our duty of citizenship, and they have taken advantage of our neglect to seize the reins of government.
Wherever despotism abounds, the sources of public information are the first to be brought under its control.
In 2008, I spoke out against calling the president a Muslim as if that was a curse. And then in 2012, once again, I was very disturbed about some of the intolerance I was seeing in the party, so I made a statement saying there's a level of intolerance in some parts of the Republican Party. And there was, and I think there still is.
The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.
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