Doubtful About the Democrats
01/26/2004 15:52 Filed in: Politics
Is it just me or is there a dearth of leadership among the current candidates for the Democratic nomination?
Realize that since I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, I am speaking strictly as an outsider. But I've watched some of the debates among the candidates vying for the nomination of the DNC. I've been following the primaries. I've paid attention as the position of frontrunner was at first Howard Dean and--as of this writing--has shifted to John Kerry.
I, too, chuckled at what has now been called Howard Dean's "I have a scream" speech. Yes, it was a bit goofy. But what really got my attention was when I began to reflect on Diane Sawyer's charge in her interview with Dean that his speech did not seem very presidential (something to which he agreed).
Diane's right. It wasn't presidential. And then I started reflecting on all the candidates. None of them seem all that presidential. In fact, I can't honestly picture any of them in the Oval Office. Can you? Really? Come on...can you really picture Howard Dean as your president? Wesley Clark? John Edwards? Al Sharpton? Sheesh.
What does it mean to be "presidential"? Well, it means lots of things, but I think that ultimately it means a person has the ability to be taken seriously as the leader of the country. Real leadership is the key. To me, regardless of whether you like George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton before him, both of them had true leadership ability.
Of the democrats, it's hard to picture any of these guys (and I can say guys since Carol Mosely Braun dropped out), save one, making major decisions with wisdom and forethought. When Wesley Clark was a general, did he wear that silly grin even in the heat of battle?
The only candidate who comes off with any credibility (i.e. the only candidate I can really take seriously as presidential material) is Joe Lieberman, but he is in the single digits in the polls. Why is he not popular? He's not popular because like his buddy, Al Gore, he has no charisma. "So what?" you might ask. Well, in our visual (think television) culture, charisma is everything.
In fact, I think this is why Bush beat Gore, Clinton beat Dole and Bush, and Bush beat Dukakis. Do I need to take it back any further for you to see it? It applies at least back to Kennedy and the first televised debates. In our culture, the prettiest candidate wins--the one who comes across best on television. Granted, there are other factors--qualifications, state of the economy, platform promises, etc....but I believe charisma is the major factor in the voting public's mind.
So back to the democratic candidates--don't most of these guys--and I know this sounds mean--come across to you as a bunch of clowns? The current Bush and his father I could picture in the office. Even Clinton didn't defy the imagination for the position. But I can't picture any of these current contenders as president.
The buzzword I'm hearing right now is electability. That means the Democrats are trying to figure out, not which is the best candidate for the position, but which one has the best chance of defeating incumbent, George W. Bush. But you know what? I don't think any of them do.
What do you want to bet that George W. isn't losing any sleep these days?
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On another note, I've received mail from a number of you regarding yesterday's blog, "Smackdown in the Kroger Parking Lot." One of you had this to say in regard to my suggestion that we should all grab a loose cart and take it in when we go to the grocery store:
BTW, I've been doing just that for a couple of years. I love to get parked, jump out of my car and grab a cart and put it up while some idiot is still fumbling for their key, etc. After getting it back in the proper place for the carts, I love to glance at them and always hope they learned something. But mostly those type folks never learn. Some folks think the world owes them extra favors.
I will never forget the time I wouldn't let a little fellow drag a cart past my car. I told him I would take it because I didn't want to bump my car with it. He looked dumb but tried to be helpful and stated, "Ma'am, it won't hurt the car for it to get bumped." I informed him that most cars are very expensive and cost a minimum of $25,000 and that I did not want my car bumped or scratched with a shopping cart. And I don't think he got it. He will be 40 years old one day, make his final payment on a car and a grocery boy will try to drag one by his vehicle.......and a little light will go off in his head from 25 years earlier.
Realize that since I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, I am speaking strictly as an outsider. But I've watched some of the debates among the candidates vying for the nomination of the DNC. I've been following the primaries. I've paid attention as the position of frontrunner was at first Howard Dean and--as of this writing--has shifted to John Kerry.
I, too, chuckled at what has now been called Howard Dean's "I have a scream" speech. Yes, it was a bit goofy. But what really got my attention was when I began to reflect on Diane Sawyer's charge in her interview with Dean that his speech did not seem very presidential (something to which he agreed).
Diane's right. It wasn't presidential. And then I started reflecting on all the candidates. None of them seem all that presidential. In fact, I can't honestly picture any of them in the Oval Office. Can you? Really? Come on...can you really picture Howard Dean as your president? Wesley Clark? John Edwards? Al Sharpton? Sheesh.
What does it mean to be "presidential"? Well, it means lots of things, but I think that ultimately it means a person has the ability to be taken seriously as the leader of the country. Real leadership is the key. To me, regardless of whether you like George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton before him, both of them had true leadership ability.
Of the democrats, it's hard to picture any of these guys (and I can say guys since Carol Mosely Braun dropped out), save one, making major decisions with wisdom and forethought. When Wesley Clark was a general, did he wear that silly grin even in the heat of battle?
The only candidate who comes off with any credibility (i.e. the only candidate I can really take seriously as presidential material) is Joe Lieberman, but he is in the single digits in the polls. Why is he not popular? He's not popular because like his buddy, Al Gore, he has no charisma. "So what?" you might ask. Well, in our visual (think television) culture, charisma is everything.
In fact, I think this is why Bush beat Gore, Clinton beat Dole and Bush, and Bush beat Dukakis. Do I need to take it back any further for you to see it? It applies at least back to Kennedy and the first televised debates. In our culture, the prettiest candidate wins--the one who comes across best on television. Granted, there are other factors--qualifications, state of the economy, platform promises, etc....but I believe charisma is the major factor in the voting public's mind.
So back to the democratic candidates--don't most of these guys--and I know this sounds mean--come across to you as a bunch of clowns? The current Bush and his father I could picture in the office. Even Clinton didn't defy the imagination for the position. But I can't picture any of these current contenders as president.
The buzzword I'm hearing right now is electability. That means the Democrats are trying to figure out, not which is the best candidate for the position, but which one has the best chance of defeating incumbent, George W. Bush. But you know what? I don't think any of them do.
What do you want to bet that George W. isn't losing any sleep these days?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On another note, I've received mail from a number of you regarding yesterday's blog, "Smackdown in the Kroger Parking Lot." One of you had this to say in regard to my suggestion that we should all grab a loose cart and take it in when we go to the grocery store:
BTW, I've been doing just that for a couple of years. I love to get parked, jump out of my car and grab a cart and put it up while some idiot is still fumbling for their key, etc. After getting it back in the proper place for the carts, I love to glance at them and always hope they learned something. But mostly those type folks never learn. Some folks think the world owes them extra favors.
I will never forget the time I wouldn't let a little fellow drag a cart past my car. I told him I would take it because I didn't want to bump my car with it. He looked dumb but tried to be helpful and stated, "Ma'am, it won't hurt the car for it to get bumped." I informed him that most cars are very expensive and cost a minimum of $25,000 and that I did not want my car bumped or scratched with a shopping cart. And I don't think he got it. He will be 40 years old one day, make his final payment on a car and a grocery boy will try to drag one by his vehicle.......and a little light will go off in his head from 25 years earlier.