Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Since 1960, when Richard Nixon was declared the winner of a presidential debate by those who only heard the exchange on radio and didn't see his 5 o'clock shadow and scowling face on TV, superficial characteristics have dominated presidential politics.

After that, grown men running for office in the U.S. have hired consultants to teach them to be all warm and fuzzy, and slathered on makeup like drag queens in a Mardi Gras parade.

It's all part of the ``likeability'' factor, which argues that, all things being mostly equal, the more likeable candidate wins. This is especially so for the top job. A mayor must know everything from how many fire trucks are operational to how big- box stores are zoned. Presidents have their pick of advisers for that type of thing. A president needs a good bedside manner and qualities the electorate can identify with.

A poll by Quinnipiac University tried to measure pure likeability. The latest, taken after the Nov. 7 elections, asked voters to express their feelings about 20 leaders without regard to substance.

Whom did voters feel the warmest about? Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. At No. 2 was Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, although four in 10 respondents said they still don't know enough about him to have an opinion. One of Giuliani's fellow New Yorkers and a likely presidential candidate in 2008 came in at ninth out of 20.

Is Hillary Worried?

Should that person, Senator Hillary Clinton, be worried? Looking back to 2000, maybe.

George W. Bush's win (if that's what it was) over then-Vice President Al Gore was attributed in part to style. Gore took every opportunity to lecture voters on how a bill becomes a law. He even invoked the ``Norwood-Dingell'' patients' bill of rights legislation in a debate to show how much his 24 years of government experience mattered versus his opponent's five.

Bush put himself out as the candidate you would want to have over for a backyard barbecue. His desire to be seen as the class cheerleader to Gore's class grind was evident in a commencement address Bush gave in 2001 at his alma mater, Yale University. He tipped his hat to the summas but identified with the average Joes. ``To those of you who received honors... I say well done; and to the C students, I say you can be president of the United States.''

When each candidate had his moment before the biggest daytime TV audience of the 2000 campaign, Bush planted a kiss on Oprah Winfrey and spoke about finding religion and losing booze. Gore extended his hand and talked Kyoto protocols.

Kerry Dead Last

In 2004, when Bush had a lot going against him, he had the good fortune to be running against Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts -- who came in dead last in the Quinnipiac poll.

What exactly is the poll measuring in finding so much more good feeling about Rudy than Hillary? Emotions about Rudy come out of 9/11 and have brought him a mega-income through his own global consulting firm, multiple board seats, a new bride, and a house in the Hamptons.

What the poll doesn't assess are feelings about Rudy pre- 9/11. Those in the five boroughs of New York felt many things, but ``warm'' doesn't leap to mind.

Rudy scored many points for lowering crime, going after the Mob, cleaning up Times Square and declaring war on squeegee men. Just as many points were subtracted for harassing the homeless, tolerating police brutality, and petty gestures like ejecting Yasser Arafat from Lincoln Center and never attending the U.S. Open tennis tournament because Arthur Ashe Stadium was built by his predecessor, David Dinkins.

No Easy Bet

Rudy was no shoo-in to beat Hillary in the race for the U.S. Senate in New York in 2000, a contest that ultimately never happened. The 9/10 Rudy had recently surprised his second wife by announcing at a press conference he planned to leave her and move in with two gay guys and an over-precious Shih Tzu dog. His views on gays, guns and God were unlikely to play as well in Poughkeepsie as with the GOP on the Upper East Side.

But that's all been forgotten in the haze of the ash-covered Rudy at Ground Zero.

So what can Hillary at No. 9 do to grab some of that glow?

Few 20th-century political marriages are perfect, but hers is the first to be dissected in real time. No wonder she's the most-guarded politician in Washington.

Ms. Congeniality

But Clinton sheds her image as hall monitor for Ms. Congeniality at her peril. Attempts to look like an ordinary person can be cringe-inducing. Remember Nixon palling around with Bebe Rebozo, who looked like someone from a friend escort service, walking on the beach but forgetting to take off his wingtips?

The problem isn't that likeability is a false trait. But it can override more important qualities and be easily manipulated by consultants, 30-second spots and brief interviews.

If emoting on Oprah is one stop on the road to the presidency, 90 percent of the country is qualified for the job. If cogently discussing Medicare Part B and how to get out of the disaster in Iraq for an hour on C-Span is more the criteria, not so many will make the grade.

By 2008, if the world is in the same perilous condition as today, warm and fuzzy should matter less. Rudy 9/11 will give way to Rudy 9/10 in a New York minute. Clinton's accomplishments in the Senate, not her demeanor or record as the most-challenged spouse in political history since Eleanor Roosevelt, will count.

If the '08 race doesn't come down to who gives the best impersonation of someone you would like to have dinner with, who knows, even Al Gore might win.

(Margaret Carlson, author of ``Anyone Can Grow Up: How George Bush and I Made It to the White House'' and former White House correspondent for Time magazine, is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Margaret Carlson in Washington at mcarlson3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 30, 2006 00:06 EST