"The TV Comic Who Elected A President..."

Never been a big fan of reality TV.

Oh, I’ve watched the tube (to extremes and to a fault) since I was a little kid back in the fifties.

So, it’s not like I’m one of those snobby types who drives around with a “Kill Your Television” bumper sticker.

But I don’t care much for reality TV.

Primarily because I get enough reality in real life.

I watch television to get away from all of that.

And one need not be a Rhodes scholar to understand the reason why the reality shows are so popular.
Same reason that we invariably slow down to take a look when we pass an accident scene on the highway.

Every viewer has a bit of voyeur in them.

And when I say reality TV, I’m not talking about shows like American Idol or Deal Or No Deal.
Those aren’t “reality” shows.

They’re the proud fourth or fifth generation offspring of “Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour” and “Let’s Make A Deal”, respectively.

I’m talking about shows like “Big Brother”, et al.

Peeking behind the scenes of real life situations to see how the human animal acts and reacts when penned up with others of the species.
Except it’s not really reality, is it?

It’s an “artificial” reality created for “entertainment” purposes.

It’s no more real than the courthouse where Andy and Barney dispensed comic justice for years.

As a child of the television era, though, I do have a better than average understanding and appreciation for the impact that TV has had on the culture and the world, for that matter.
In ways you might already be aware of.

Historians, for example, pretty much credit the debates between JFK and Nixon as the deciding factor in the election of 1960.

And in some ways that might surprise you.
For example…did you know that a famous comedy variety program was probably responsible for finally putting Richard Nixon in the White House?

Mark, from Mental Floss.Com wrote about it…

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was many things. It was the first network TV show to make fun of the Establishment, support America’s counterculture, and have enough nerve to put blacklisted singers (such as Joan Baez and Pete Seeger) back on the air. Ironically, however, the show’s major achievement might have been making Richard Nixon president.
As a gag, show star Pat Paulsen ran for office during the 1968 presidential election. “I’m consistently vague on the issues,” announced Paulsen on national television, “and I’m continuing to make promises that I’ll be unable to fulfill.” Regardless of his humorous motives, Paulsen seemed to have a “Ralph Nader Effect,” stealing 200,000 votes from the Democrats and helping to swing one of the closest elections in history. Thanks to Paulsen’s efforts, Nixon narrowly defeated Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey. “Hubert Humphrey told me I cost him the election,” recalled Paulsen, “and he wasn’t smiling when he said it.”

Whether you’re a fan of television or not, there is clearly no denying the influence that the medium can exert on the people who watch it.

I’m not a zealot about it.
But, I’m a believer.

Enough that I’m really sorry Pat Paulsen wasn’t around to siphon off a few votes from George W. eight years ago.