Images of political leaders as everyday figures, involved in commonplace activities, now form an increasingly important aspect of electoral presentation. This text examines how and why selected political figures have embraced a populist agenda in a social context and addresses the scope and limitations of such an approach in the US and the UK.

ROBERT BUSBY is Lecturer in Politics at Liverpool Hope University, UK. He has written previously on the field of political scandal in American politics and has published work on the Iran-Contra affair and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.