TV AND THE GULF WAR : Some Telegenic Heroes Emerging From War Footage

A radio talk show host mentioned it the other day and, just like that, you knew he was right.

Of course! It makes perfect sense! The logic is compelling! His appearances on television during the Persian Gulf crisis--the way he looks and sounds in front of the camera, his calm strength, his blended warmth and authority--give him a big boost.

Yes, Gen. Colin L. Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the general who wryly urged reporters at a televised Pentagon briefing to “trust me,” the sturdy warrior/politician who projects strength, integrity, stability and sociability when speaking publicly.

America’s first black President.

If the war begins to go badly for the United States, all bets are off. But if the U.S. and its allies continue to roll, some heroes are going to emerge, and those who have been the most telegenic may have an opportunity to broaden their horizons.

Although Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and allied forces commander in the Gulf Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf are right up there, Powell and Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams may rank even higher.

The boyish Williams is absolutely the smoothest, most affable government spokesman in years. His regular press briefings, at which he’s endlessly good-natured as well as controlling, are works of gorgeous art.

Said Hodding Carter, State Department spokesman from 1977 to 1980: “If I was going to invent a spokesperson who would be the model--who fulfills what his boss wants and manages to keep reporters engaged instead of enraged--it would be Pete Williams.”

Or, as a caller to “Larry King Live” said to Williams when he was a guest last week: “Wonderful job on TV.”

Carter said that his own TV appearances during the Iranian hostage crisis gave him a level of fame he never anticipated. That was true even though he was associated with President Jimmy Carter’s failed attempt to free the hostages.

“What I was doing on TV didn’t define who I was,” Hodding Carter said. “It was simply notoriety, the fact of being identifiable and recognizable.”

Whatever it was, it proved “bankable,” Carter said, for immediately after leaving his visible State Department post, he was approached both by an agent and a producer, who hired him to host a press criticism series on PBS.

As for Williams, King mentioned rumors that the Pentagon spokesman may run for political office in Wyoming. But watching this former radio and TV reporter day after day, you don’t envision politics in his future as much as a talk show.

Herrrrrre’s Petey!

And, with possibly even more at stake in a postwar America, herrrrrre’s Colin, whose own less-frequent TV appearances may bode something bigger even than a fifth star.

Others will have to compare Powell the man to Powell the TV picture. But this is about image, not necessarily substance, about compatibility with the single technology that can make or break political careers.

In an age when airwaves are often kingmakers, TV reality looms supreme, and Powell is the kind of public figure the camera embraces. “He was made for the camera,” Carter said.

Previous generals--from George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant to Dwight D. Eisenhower--managed to win promotion to the White House without assistance from TV. Unlike them, however, Powell has not been a towering national figure and high-profile general commanding forces in a major war. Not until now, that is, when the lives of almost 500,000 U.S. troops in the Gulf depend in good part on his judgment.

Yet a special quality that Powell brings to the camera as Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman--one that immediately hits the TV viewer--is racial. Here, the picture tells you, is a black man merging with a white mainstream.

Whereas the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s sometimes fiery style is almost too hot for TV, no doubt feeding suspicions by some about his motives, Powell’s cool crispness seems tailored to the medium.

With President Bush undoubtedly planning to seek a second term, and no one sure of what’s ahead on the war front, Powell’s political future, if he desires one, is unknown. But some may welcome a Powell-for-Dan Quayle swap in 1992 and, if the nation’s top soldier does decide to do battle on the political front, the camera will be one of his strongest allies.