New York Times' columnist Paul Krugman looks into why Americans haven't heard much about John Kerry's proposal to extend health insurance to lower- and middle-income families. After "reading 60 days' worth" of transcripts from major cable and broadcast TV networks Krugman writes, "Never mind the details - I couldn't even find a clear statement that Mr. Kerry wants to roll back recent high-income tax cuts and use the money to cover most of the uninsured. When reports mentioned the Kerry plan at all, it was usually horse race analysis - how it's playing, not what's in it. On the other hand, everyone knows that Teresa Heinz Kerry told someone to 'shove it,' though even there, the context was missing." Krugman continues, "Somewhere along the line, TV news stopped reporting on candidates' policies, and turned instead to trivia that supposedly reveal their personalities. We hear about Mr. Kerry's haircuts, not his health care proposals. We hear about George Bush's brush-cutting, not his environmental policies. ... In short, the triumph of the trivial is not a trivial matter. The failure of TV news to inform the public about the policy proposals of this year's presidential candidates is, in its own way, as serious a journalistic betrayal as the failure to raise questions about the rush to invade Iraq."