"Politics as battle has given way to politics as spectacle"

This quote by Ronald Steel recommends that politics has shifted from a fight of ideas and ideologies to a program of grandeur and phenomenon. Simply put, politics has ended up being more about appearances and less about substance. This shift has actually been driven by the media, which has become progressively concentrated on the characters of political leaders rather than their policies. As an outcome, political leaders are more concerned with their public image than with the actual problems they are expected to be addressing. This has led to a situation where political leaders are more focused on their own self-promotion than on the needs of their constituents. This shift has actually had a negative influence on the political procedure, as it has actually made it more difficult for people to make informed choices about who to elect.