Remember the polls that said that Bush resonated with voters because "he was the kind of guy you wanted to go have a beer with"? As ridiculous as that is as a standard for the office of the President, the truth is that the average American voter does place an inordinate amount of importance on a fairly shallow understanding of not only the office sought, but of the person they are electing to it.

At the Edinburgh TV Festival, Al Gore lamented on what it takes to get elected nowadays.