Ted Kennedy

A good article on the least glamorous Kennedy brother who ironically, had the greatest direct impact on American law.

On glamor:

In an age of cynicism and full disclosure, political glamour is a rarity--not because politicians lack good looks or wealth or celebrity but because we know too much about them. We too easily see their flaws and imagine even more than the flaws we do see.

Despite what the fashion-magazine cover blurbs suggest, glamour is not a matter of style but of psychology. It is an imaginative exchange, in which an audience projects its longings onto the glamorous object and sees in that person, place or thing the fulfillment of those desires. By binding image and desire, glamour gives us pleasure, even as it heightens our yearning.

That process requires distance and mystery, because glamour is always an illusion. The word originally referred to a literal magic spell making things appear better than they really were. To "glamorize" something means to remove distractions or flaws. Too much information breaks the spell.