Politics is more about image than substance. That is confirmed when you step on the floor of the democratic national convention here in Boston.
First of all, this place has the appearance of one gigantic television studio. There are flat screen TV monitors everywhere.
Monday night, Bill and Hillary Clinton -- a political couple representing the ultimate triumph of image over substance -- were on hand to address the assembled delegates.
Politics has become a religion of its own. Many people put their faith in politicians, but to do what? Make their lives better? Make other people's lives better? Make the world better?
The harsh reality for such people is that politicians can't do that because that power rests with the individual.
Those politicians who believe the individual is more important than government and that people -- in the words of another JFK -- should not ask what their country can do for them but rather ask what they can do for their country, are the ones deserving of our vote, if not our ultimate faith.
The big question is whether democrats love John Kerry more than they hate President Bush. Most observers presume the latter to be the case, and that may be enough to sneak the Senator from Massachussetts into the White House for awhile.
Either way, for the Democratic Party leadership, this looks like a marriage of convenience. In less than 100 days, we'll know how much of the rest if the country buys it.
In Boston, I'm Cal Thomas.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
