I am not a cynic.
I am an empiricist.
Do the math. We’ve started electing people who are first and foremost telegenic (looking) and second who speak stirringly. We want Presidents who will be fun to watch on TV. Lots of fun.
Sex appeal is another way to describe the winning phenomenon.
Marco Rubio has more Latin oomph than Rudolph Valentino, as much exoticism as President Obama and is less threatening to bigots. And anyway he agrees with a lot of their opinions.
It’s the Hollywoodization of the electoral process–ironic,perhaps, as the big studios continue their decline.
The hot new romance of Cuba and the US fuels the mix.
Forget my dear Elizabeth Warren or Barney Frank whose enemies admit is the last honest man in Washington. They just ain’t sexy.
Don’t bother to tally the Hispanic vote.
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as well as two highly researched non-fiction books 
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. The last was nominated by publisher Alfred Knopf for a Pulitzer. She is a frequent blogger on the