McCain vs Hillary In HDTV!

Sen. John McCain on the August 28th Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

Sen. Hillary Clinton on the August 30th Late Night With David Letterman.

CNN has announced that it will broadcast two presidential debates in November in glorious High-Definition. But, oh dear, last week we got a sneak peek at how two of the leading candidates will look in high-def during their appearances on the late night talk shows. And it wasn't pretty.

Let's start with Sen. Hillary Clinton, who guested on Thursday night's (August 30) Late Night With David Letterman. After watching Mrs. Clinton for a few minutes, I couldn't help but think of that famous line from the first Austin Powers movie: "That's a man, baby!" In high-def, Hillary looked remarkably masculine with thick eyebrows, David Spade-like haircut and a tan pants suit that could have gotten her into a Gertrude Stein poetry reading night without having to pay a cover. The overall look wasn't helped by the fact that her neck was redder than the state of Alabama in the 2004 presidential election. She really needs to think about covering that thing up in future appearances. It looks raw and unhealthy in high-def.

Now, let's get to McCain, who was on Tuesday night (August 28) on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno. McCain is now 71 years old and there's no hiding it in high-def. He looks so feeble and doddering despite his best efforts to appear energetic. To make matters worse, he repeated an old joke that Sen. Bob Dole used to tell about having trouble sleeping at night: "I slept like a baby. I woke up every two hours crying." When you're trying to look fresh and young, you don't quote someone even older than you. McCain likes to say he's a maverick, but at this point, he looks older than the original maverick, James Garner.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that his face just doesn't benefit from high-def thanks to the cancer surgery he underwent on his left cheek. It's an unfortunate thing to have to mention, but the voters will notice it when he's in HD during the debate. And we all know how importance appearances are in presidential debates. Just ask Dick Nixon -- well, if he was alive, that is.

As we get closer to the new HDTV debates in November, I'll have more to say (Or maybe Swanni will) on how the rest of the candidates look in high-def.

To see the HD Diva's daily program picks, go to: "10 Hottest Shows in HDTV!"

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