Hart's primary interest  is the role mass media plays in producing a sense of intimacy between us viewer/citizens and politicians. In many ways this is a false intimacy and has consequences, Hart argues, for our willingness to participate in political debate.  In this way, the mass media affects the kind and quality of our interpesonal communication.  

1) What does the media do that creates this sense of intimacy we have with politicians, and how is this different from our experience with politicians 60 years ago?

2) What do politicians do that creates this sense of intimacy, and how has it changed over time?

3) Reflecting on your own experience of the way politicians represent themselves, or are represented on mass media, do you feel the kind of intimacy Hart describes? Do you experience the sense of betrayal when lied to by politicians that Hart describes, or have you checked out of politics altogether? If so, what role do you think this intimacy Hart describes might have had on your decision to get out of politics?