Thanks to many generous campaign donations by Rupert Murdoch, Congress has passed laws in recent years to relax many of the laws that would have prevented such a thing.
As, to the other, if either man had ever thought they had the talent to do it, they would have. And if they had the talent, the public would've accepted it. After all (and I know this is comparing apples to computer chips) Pat Robertson was a preacher/faith-healer/douchebag/cable network owner/talk show host/presidential candidate.