In the television age the key distinction is between the candidate who can speak poetry and the one who can only speak prose.
We would all like to vote for the best man but he is never a candidate.
Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least.
I've been looking at some video clips on YouTube of President Obama - then candidate Obama - going through Iowa making promises. The gap between his promises and his performance is the largest I've seen well since the Kardashian wedding and the promise of 'til death do we part.