Life imitates art 7

Yesterday afternoon I was sewing and watching the first episode of the new season of Dancing With the Stars, one of my guilty trash-TV pleasures.  When I heard my husband clattering pots and pans up in the kitchen I realized it was dinnertime, so I switched off DWTS and went up to cook.  On the upstairs TV the Republican candidates "debate" was about to begin and I realized -- it was just like Dancing With the Stars!

The same dark, TV-blue set, with sparkly lights in the stratosphere. The same gently curved array of hopefuls, nervously facing the audience.  A flashy prop hanging from the roof -- a mirror ball on one set, Air Force One on the other.  (Sorry, I had to crop out the mirror ball from the photo.)

But most striking, the same atmosphere -- the announcer barely able to contain his grave excitement, the suspenseful music, the camera zooming in on celebrities in the crowd, the on-scene reporters earnestly discussing the prospects of various contestants with random "expert observers."  There were little up-close-and-personal vignettes of the contestants.  There were opportunities for the viewing audience to call in and vote for their favorites.

There were reminders to stay tuned: "If you thought that Round 1 was intense, you haven't seen anything yet!"  (That was from the debate, not the dancing.)  There were commercials (the debate was brought to you by a remedy for toenail fungus).

If you have thought that the presidential campaign, at least at this point, seems to have way more entertainment content than public policy, this may support your argument.