I think someone like William F. Buckley or Garrison Keillor will always be successful eventually. (WFB not just because he was conservative, but because he was a gentleman, a wit, and a joy to listen to, but because he was so damned intelligent. And by the same token, GK not because of his politics, but because he’s every bit as intelligent, witty and humorous as Buckley was.) The problem is that it might take longer for that to happen these days because people seem to value more style over that kind of substance.
I think I’d be a fan of anyone who modeled him or herself along those lines. (And they’re not the only ones, but the best examples I could think of right now, because I don’t watch much television because I don’t see those examples on TV nowadays.)