"I also gave some attention to my image in the period running up to the 1997 election. In the beginning, I was loath to give this subject much of my time. Why couldn’t the media and the public just focus on what I had to say, instead of obsessing about my voice, hair, spectacles, smile and clothes? Of course I knew intellectually that if you are going to communicate effectively with people in this age of television, you simply can’t divorce substance from image. I just didn’t want to deal with the challenge on a personal level. Finally, my communications people convinced me by saying that if my personal appearance, bearing and idiosyncracies actually distracted people and kept them from hearing or seeing what I was trying to communicate, it would be wise to do something at least to minimize the distractions. Diane Craig was invited to advise on clothes and manners, and we got to work on the "image". And Diane Craig undertook to get me a more leader–like wardrobe and made sure the look was appropriate for whatever the occasion."