Reality TV as Politician Training?

March 16, 2006, The Morning Call Online (http://www.mcall.com/news/) posted an article called "Reality TV could be good training for a politician". I found the article very interesting because it conveyed the way that being on a reality televison show was not much unlike being a politician. Their inspiration for this article was from the latest Apprentice contestant, Frank Devlin who has decided that he will run for a Congress position in his area. According to the article, the similarities between reality television contestants and political figures include: the fact that both get their most embarrassing and dramatic moments aired on televison whether it be on the reality show or the news, both have to be continuously friendly, entergetic, and appeal to the public, they each have to build up so called "alliances" to have more power in their corner, and both must have "a strong desire to win". So, both reality contestants and politicians appear to need the same traits to achieve their desired future whether it be a political seat or winning a million dollars, but does this really mean that they can interchange their positions...a show contestant deciding to now represent the people in his state? I think that the contestants need the proper training to become politician; just because they share the same traits as a politician does not mean that they have the same knowledge on how to get things done for the people in their political position. On the other hand, seeing as an Apprentice contestant is running for office, I think that he probably has more educational backround to be able to fill a political position, but that's not to say that every reality star has the right qualities to become a politician.