I don't know if Santa brought you a nice Sony 40-inch LCD high-def TV for Christmas, but if old Saint Nick did, but I bet Barack Obama's advisers wish there was one under your tree to hook up. Estimates put about a third of American homes with at least one HD set. My guess is among probable voters in this year's primary, the percentage may be even higher.

That's good news for Obama, the most youthful looking among the top candidates, and lousy news for those in the race more advanced in age. Anybody out there watch Hillary in high-def last Wednesday on The Late Show with David Letterman? She looked pretty haggard. That ultra-crisp picture is great when you pop in a DVD, but it doesn't do septuagenarian John McCain much good when he's jousting with Tim Russert on Meet the Press. TV is the most intimate of mediums and with the advent of HD this campaign season we are more than ever inviting the candidates into our homes -- warts and all. The HD factor could make all the difference in a close race.