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beauty and charisma in US presidential elections

beauty and charisma in US presidential elections

Debates

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wait, wait, ....

Bob Dole!

Dole/Clinton

he was almost as boring as Gore. and only two letter changes away.

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Originally posted by zeeblebot
wait, wait, ....

Bob Dole!

Dole/Clinton

he was almost as boring as Gore. and only two letter changes away.
Dole's problem was that he spoke about himself in the third person wasn't it? There is not much more annoying than that.

I also think he should have started doing the Viagra commercials before the election, not after.

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i wonder if his wife is still mad at him.

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Gore and Kerry were both better-looking than Bush --- pretty much anyone was better-looking than Lyndon Johnson -- pretty much anyone was better-looking than Nixon.

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see where opinion gets you ... now way Gore and Kerry out-beautied Bush!

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i'm not sure Palin is very charismatic. Obama's probably salivating at the chance to contend with her in the general election.

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anyhow, if the theory is right, the outcome of the general election is decided in the primaries, not in the general itself. in the modern age.

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If your theory is correct, why do you think there is so much emphasis on charisma/looks in the U.S. compared to most other rich industrialized nations? Merkel won't be winning a pageant any time soon, Sarkozy is a midget... and you might want to google Balkenende for some laughs.

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Originally posted by zeeblebot
i'm not sure Palin is very charismatic. Obama's probably salivating at the chance to contend with her in the general election.
you don't think Palin is very charismatic?

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Originally posted by KazetNagorra
If your theory is correct, why do you think there is so much emphasis on charisma/looks in the U.S. compared to most other rich industrialized nations? Merkel won't be winning a pageant any time soon, Sarkozy is a midget... and you might want to google Balkenende for some laughs.
you'll need to compare your test items vs. their opponents in the general election.

Merkel vs. who?

Sarkozy vs. who?

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Originally posted by Melanerpes
you don't think Palin is very charismatic?
i don't watch TV much. and the media mostly reported on her when they were laughing at her fauxpas. it doesn't matter how charismatic she is in real life. all that matters is what gets passed on to the electorate, weighted the way the media chooses to weight it.

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Originally posted by zeeblebot
you'll need to compare your test items vs. their opponents in the general election.

Merkel vs. who?

Sarkozy vs. who?
In the election before the last one, Merkel was up against Schröder, who surely is more charismatic than Merkel.

Sarkozy was up against Royal, who is at the very least better looking than Palin.

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Originally posted by KazetNagorra
In the election before the last one, Merkel was up against Schröder, who surely is more charismatic than Merkel.

Sarkozy was up against Royal, who is at the very least better looking than Palin.
lets posit some theories.

in the German election, beauty and charisma may be negative factors rather than positive. i knew a guy who spent 8 years learning German. then he actually went to Germany and said "OMG! What'd I do?" apparently they were very stolid or something like that.

maybe Sarkozy had Royal beat on charisma.

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maybe Sarkozy had affairs and Royal didn't. is this a prerequisite there?

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Originally posted by zeeblebot
lets posit some theories.

in the German election, beauty and charisma may be negative factors rather than positive. i knew a guy who spent 8 years learning German. then he actually went to Germany and said "OMG! What'd I do?" apparently they were very stolid or something like that.

maybe Sarkozy had Royal beat on charisma.
Stolid? I don't know about that, but I've never been to the U.S. so I don't know how they compare to Americans. Schröder was chancellor for many years before he lost against Merkel.

Sarkozy doesn't come across as very charismatic to me, but perhaps the French disagree.