To answer the original question: I think looks and other "chrome" certainly affects the results in a great deal, especially when TV is used extensively. I absolutely refuse to agree that it "always wins" though.

Also,

>Lets just say you have A that has a very sound budget policy while B has a budget policy was raising the tax.

Higher taxes can be very sound. I think every large western economy has lots of debt currently, and paying interest to someone else indefinitely can be A LOT more stupid than having a bit higher taxes. So can cutting away tax money from society-improving projects just to give people a short-term consumption party.