| Scholars and pundits have long worried about a democracy based on image---one in which voters' decisions are based primarily on perceptions of the candidates' image at the expensive of more substantive policy considerations. These concerns have intensified recently as candidate image has become a dominate feature of American politics. Indeed, voters now find themselves in a 'new media age' where a growing number of formal and informal political news sources and emerging campaign strategies place unprecedented emphasis on the candidates' personal qualities. Despite widespread concerns, scholars have yet to fully explore the factors that could alter the relative weight voters give image and, as such, little is known about whether or not voters are actually becoming more image-conscious in their political decision-making.; In this dissertation, I begin by providing a broad framework for understanding when image will matter which highlights the complexity of the relationship between image-dominant external sources and the criteria voters use to evaluate political candidates. I then focus my empirical investigation on how emerging campaign strategies and changes in campaign reporting in the new media age affect the relative use of image. Specifically, I examine candidate appearances on late night talk shows, campaign websites, and campaign coverage from various news sources over time.; I find that these key external forces in the new media age---which provide abundant image information---are constrained and, therefore, largely unable to make image a more important consideration with voters. In fact, there is even some evidence, counter to popular claims, that these often maligned campaign strategies and reporting habits may actually engage voters in a more thoughtful analysis of their political options. Ultimately, concerns about an overly image-conscious electorate are overstated as, even in this image-dominated environment, American voters show a clear propensity to base their political decisions on more than the candidates' perceived image by considering the substantive issues at stake. This suggests that, by and large, image has not overwhelmed important issues and that voters still play a healthy role in their representative democracy. |
