A lot of this has to do with the networks going with a "personality trumps all" philosophy and believeing that ratings are the result of nice personalities rather than serious analysis. That's why ABC just picked the sweetly witless Diane Sawyer. Curiously, it's the same philosophy that Obama runs under (and is now stumbling under).
Americans love someone who can deliver a good first impression....we love it for awhile....and then: Rasmussen -11 and going down.
Very true.