Occupy Alaska Fights for Warmth; Moonshine Cologne on Sale Now
GORANI: Once again checking news across the country, Occupy protesters in Alaska they are battling big government but they're also battling Mother Nature with temperatures dipping below zero. City leaders have asked them to remove the heated tents that are keeping them warm. Three University of Georgia graduates have created a unique fragrance. It's called Moonshine Gentleman's cologne. But what does it smell like? One of its creators says, there are hints of black pepper, gin, tobacco and leather. The cologne is in stores in select cities. And Michigan is home to the only man in the country to be awarded the ultimate prize from Mary Kay, the Pink Cadillac. He began his career as a Mary Kay consultant in 2001 and he worked his way up to sales director. Congratulations. CNN will bring you live coverage of the next Republican presidential debate tomorrow tonight. If television existed in 1860 would Lincoln have won? Could Dewey have defeat Truman if he sent out tweets? We'll never know but it's fun to think what could have happened had voters had the same information that modern voters have or if they could have accessed it in the same way. Bob Greene is a CNN contributor and all the GOP presidential debates inspired him to write about our untelevised presidents for CNN.com. Let's talk then, about some of these historical examples of candidates who ran against each other decades ago in the United States. How would TV have changed anything do you think?</s>BOB GREENE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, 70 percent of all the presidents we've ever had were never televised. More than 60 percent never appeared on radio and almost a quarter, 25 percent of all the presidents never had their photograph taken while in office. So it's almost like for earlier generations of Americans, they literally could pass a presidential candidate who they may vote for on the street and not recognize him.</s>GORANI: Right.</s>GREENE: It was as -- it was as if the campaign was a -- was a distant and indistinct rumor and yet as always they were asked to take that leap of faith and roll the dice.</s>GORANI: But how much does television really have an impact? I mean on the ground campaigning in the end and studies have shown this -- is almost just as important, isn't it? It's not just a question of being on television. It's a question of using it well. Which candidates are using it well?</s>GREENE: Right. Well, the ones who use it well are the ones who project better, who look best, the things we always know about. But it was pointed out to me. I spoke with a man named John Gehr, who is the head of the Political Science Department at Vanderbilt University. He said that, of course, now today candidates want to look great on television, come across authoritatively. In the radio days you wanted to have the warm, comforting voice. But it was always the technology of the era that posed the challenge. For example, he said there weren't always microphones. So in the early days of this country if a candidate had a big booming voice at least the people in the crowd could hear him. Before microphones a candidate with great ideas and thoughtfulness who had a soft voice, he wasn't even heard.</s>GORANI: Well I mean, also the interesting is if you look at someone like Eisenhower, bald (ph); if you look at someone like FDR who had a physical, a visible, physical disability.</s>GREENE: Yes, yes.</s>GORANI: I mean these things, had they been televised, would they have -- obviously, Eisenhower is right over us but I mean, these are the kinds of things that perhaps candidates now think about more, but is it a good thing? I mean, is it a good thing?</s>GREENE: It's never -- it's never a good thing to have to get past the technology to reach the people. It was suggested to me that if every person in this country could somehow magically have five minutes alone with a candidate, just the voter and the candidate, five minutes one on one, that would change everything. But it's not going to be that way, and you wonder if 100 years from now if people look back to now and say, how did they make their choice? We only had television.</s>GORANI: Bob Greene, thanks very much. You can read Bob's comment at CNN.com/opinion. CNN wants to know what you are thankful for this year. Send us your iReports all this week and we'll share them on air to get a sense of what is most important to you. Visit the new iReport at cnniReport.com/thankful to submit yours today.