The tyranny of the sound

bite has been universally denounced as a leading cause of the low state of America's political dis- course. "If you couldn't say

it in less than 10 seconds," former gover- nor Michael Dukakis declared after the 1988 presidential campaign, "it wasn't heard because it wasn't aired." Somewhat chastened, the nation's television networks now are suggesting that they will be more generous in covering the 1992 campaign, and some candidates have already be...