For years now, advertisements have featured a logo with the outline of a television tube, usually in red with white letters reading "As Seen On TV," as the ultimate badge of promotional credibility.

The "As Seen On TV" emblem echoes the logo of TV Guide, the most trusted name in TV guides, and gives the impression that the product or service being advertised is endorsed--much like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval--by the magazine. And despite the emergence of the educated consumer and a healthy skepticism of anything advertised on television, "As Seen On..." continues to be a trusted brand, even though everyone knows that anyone with money can buy time on TV to sell almost anything.

So what's going to happen in February 2009 when the venerable, bulging TV screen will go the way of the transistor? (Analog television owners can buy a box to convert their TV, but by now, analog sets have become a rarity.)  Can this trusted logo be adapted to the rectangular flat screen format and continue to be as credible? I doubt it. So let's take the time remaining to pay homage to "As Seen On TV," knowing we will never see its like again.

Forget about Lincoln v. Douglas, Kennedy v. Nixon, and even Obama v. McCain. The real Great Debate, the one that will have the pundits sputtering, is Batman v. The Penguin (just click on the frame above or here if you're the type that has problems doing "a Google"). See why the nation is divided on who will best lead us in times of crisis. Wham! Bam! Pow! My vote goes to . . . .