Nowadays television does not simply cover campaigns, it has become the place where campaigns are enacted. Among other humiliations in being a presidential candidate is to be patronized by television interviewers. Anyone can find an awkward question to put to a candidate, but the candidate knows that a hasty, imprudent reply can haunt him for months. No wonder the questioner seems more assured. The viewer gets so used to candidates truckling to self-important television types that the three-hour Democratic debate in New Hampshire provided two refreshing exceptions. Interviewer Phil Donahue, a...
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