Sunday, March 11, 2012

Mr. Cool


The then Senator Obama once told Harry Reid that his "gift" was being able to read from a teleprompter so easily.  That certainly is true, but he has a much larger asset ... and that is his "coolness".  Marshall McLuhan once prophetically observed that television is a cool medium.  And President Obama fits this medium like a chamois glove.  He even strides "cool."  I seldom can watch him perform on television without singing to myself that old 1959 Coasters' song Charlie Brown:
Who walks in the classroom, cool and slow
Who calls the English teacher, Daddy-O      (see: All Lyrics)
So, in the upcoming Presidential election, Obama (I like to call him The Barry to reprise that other cool media character, The Donald), has the natural advantage in the upcoming debates.  Neither Rick Santorum nor Mitt Romney nor Newt Gingrich are particularly cool personalities ... Romney is cooler than the other two, but still boiling hot compared to The Barry.  What does this suggest?  To me, it implies that, if the election is determined on emotion (as it was in 2008), Obama will win in a walk.  However, if the U.S. electorate chooses to view things this fall with a preponderance of logic, then Obama will loose in a landslide.  It should turn out to be a classic battle between the head and the heart.

And what will determine the mood of electorate then?  My guess would be the degree of angst (created by the world situation) that is roiling the voters ... the hotter things are, the less well "coolness" will play.

6 comments:

  1. I think you have the emotion thing ass backwards. Emotion is hot; logic is cool.
    After the airing of "Game Change" I think the party that would have put Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from POTUS has lost all credibility, anyhow. The Cards are dealt. Read em and weep.

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  2. DEN,
    You may be right, but then Sarah Palin was (and still is to many) hot ... therefore, according to your thesis, she should have brought the emotional vote to the McCain camp in a year when logic seemed to be the furthest thing from U.S. electorate's mind.

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  3. No my thesis is that she is/was/ever-will-be vastly more unqualified than evenBiden. We the citizens should be scared by the current process of selecting VP's. Both parties.

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  4. The same could be said for our process of selecting Presidents ...

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  5. Charlie Brown Obama10:32 PM

    Why is everybody always picking on me?

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  6. Anonymous4:26 AM

    Because you are the south end of a horse going north ...

    ReplyDelete