Intrigue! Pantsuits! Devilry behind closed doors ! The occasional dose of Latin philosophizing! Politics as TV fodder is a tale as old as the late-20th century. Beginning in the '30s with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Hollywood enjoyed skewering that powerful force on the other side of the country. The stories were all vaguely similar: An idealistic fellow (often a man) would venture to Washington, D.C., only to find himself corrupted by the promise of sweet, sweet power. There was All the King's Men in 1949 and A Face in the Crowd in 1957. Later, there was All The President's Men. All of them were "gritty" and "tough," and most of them earned awards attention. It wasn't really until the late '90s that politics came to TV. Once it arrived, though, it swept the nation. Politics are a modern-day Colosseum where outward anger is repressed and betrayal is not. When it comes to politics, it's a dog-eat-bloodied heart world.