Lately I've been trying to give Nate Silver - the premiere political prognosticator - a few pointers on metrics he might have overlooked in predicting the outcome of the 2012 election.
First of all, we looked at the surprising correlation of the presidency with left-handedness and teenage daughters. Next, we measured the candidates proficiency at baby whispering.
Today I'd like to take a look at the all-important coolness factor. I think a couple of short video clips will do the trick.
First of all, here is Mitt Romney.
Ewwww. Can you spell a.w.k.w.a.r.d?
Now, here's President Obama.
Ahhhh. Coolness personified.
Based on this metric, I'd predict President Obama in a landslide!
:-)
Actually, Ms. Pants, you've hit on a metric that IS very important to a working politician. To wit: Who'd you rather have a beer with?
ReplyDeleteMost people decry the shallowness of the statement, and it's true that competance is more important than likeability. But you can buy competance, you can learn competance and you can fake competance by following polls.
Romney is competant. He was competant in School. He was competant in business. He also did some good things and some bad things as Governor, showing competance. Romney is competant.
Obama is competant. He was competant as a student in Law School. He did yoeman's work as a community organizer. He found people to show him how to get elected. He's been a competant President, irrespective of what you think of his policies. Obama is competant.
Since the last time Americans actually voted a President on policy issues was 1992 ... when all else is equal ==> who'd you rather have a beer with?
Bill Clinton was way cooler than George Bush and Ross Perot. It wasn't all about the issues then. Bush did have some crazy people around him that gave Clinton a little push. Remember when he played sax on The Tonight Show? How about the affair he admitted to while he was campaigning? His approval rating went up. Bill's cool.
DeleteObama's Jay-Z cool. Much cooler than Bill and it'll be some time before we get someone as cool as the President. Then again I might get tempted to run.
Vic78
Vic78
Vic78,
DeleteWhen you decide to go for it - let me know. I'd be happy to prognosticate on your coolness :-)
When I first heard that some people vote for the leader of the world's most powerful country based on things like "coolness" and "likeability", and not on policy and competence, I thought it was a joke. But several decades of observation have convinced me it's a sad reality.
ReplyDeleteMo'nin', Ms. Pants
ReplyDeleteTo me, the beautiful thing about what you're pointing out in your piece is that, as Manuel is concerned about above, the policy and competency aspects have been demonstrated time and again. Some of the latest evidence of that being the GM turn around - and the UAW's response to him regarding it(and he was seriously JAMmin' in that speech). And, and I know you didn't, don't miss the outstanding and always on it "Rootless" over at TPV as he points out what that horrible, terrible, AWful, Secretary Geithner (who PBO continues to have in that position in spite of the aforementioned HOWLin') has done for us.
Oh, yes....he's competent, alright. But, I believe he, in this arena in which we continually talk and debate, passed competency long ago. And, that would include when he was in law school. It might be argued that making The Review validates competency (though that tends to mean one is a cut above). Being the HEAD of The Review tends to mean even more than being a cut above - and PBO represents VERY well in that regard.
AND, he's cool!
Indeed it's relative how one interprets that concept. For DerFarm, it's a guy you'd wanna have a beer with. Vic78 says PBO is "JayZ cool".
The President demonstrates excellent relative pitch in singing classic Al Green - at the APOLLO - where you'll get danced and hooked off of the stage for half-steppin'. And, CLEARly, Ms. Pants, you get alla that. Go 'head on, now!
For me, he's Miles Davis cool. Miles was the purveyor of, in the progression of jazz, the approach of "less is more" (think "All Blues" or "So What" or "In A Silent Way" annnd PBO). aka
COOL.
Mornin Blackman.
DeleteOf course, I'm just having a little fun with this one - we can't be completely serious all the time now can we?
You're so right - PBO demonstrated his competence a long time ago. And I chronicle how he shows that almost daily...its a given.
But there's no denying that he's also soooo cool. And "less is more" is always the coolest!