duxfemina:

shouldn't the purpose of political theater be to further some political agenda? in the examples of mr. clinton and mr. wilson, all their enemies did is made them sympathetic when they really didn't deserve any sympathy at all.

Nobody said it was good theatre. Politics is pretty much reality TV.

Actually, it's not even that. It's Cops or another show where the host grandstands on how dumb crooks get what they deserve.