President Bush attempts Reagan charisma?

[Loren Booda]

Do you notice any resemblance to Ronald Reagan in the distant expression of current President Bush? He appears removed from any conflict, as if he were programming (or programmed by) the party faithful - much like a charismatic. Rather than a crucifix, though, his presidency seems dominated by interests in the almighty $ , of the rabidly rich.

 

[selfAdjoint]

I personally think he's spaced out. With Reagan it was incipient Altsheimer's. With Bush, I dunno. Are you sure he gave up the drugs?

 

[GENIERE]

I’m not sure of the purpose of this type of thread. I do understand it, however. I attribute to Bill Clinton the vilest of human traits and despise him. I would not waste time posting my feelings. What does it accomplish except to provoke those having a different opinion. It certainly does not lead to intelligent discussion.

 

[Loren Booda]

You've caught my interest, GENIERE. I felt betrayed when Clinton sold out with his last-minute pardons to crooks, but what do you mean by "vilest of human traits"? The purpose of threads like this is to moderate political views, as you may mine. Your signature indicates to me that you may have some first-hand experience with oppression.

 

[Zero]

This is the sort of thing that matches the talk about Wesley Clark's sweaters...the 'spacy' look is most likely due to Bush reading a teleprompter and not being a natural at public speaking.


Isn't it more important to discuss WHAT he said, instead of how he looked while saying it?

 

[GENIERE]

I suppose what I was trying to say is that my hatred for Clinton is irrational. In many ways he was very helpful in getting conservative polices enacted. If I’m not mistaken, all of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America” was enacted during his administration. From my perspective, Clinton did not act from conviction, but from a vain attempt to be recognized in history as a great president.

The far left has a hatred of President Bush. Most Americans consider him a nice guy, even many who dislike his policies. I can understand the hatred and recognize it’s irrational root.

Except for Gephardt, Lieberman, and possibly Edwards, I believe the rest of Democratic candidates lack conviction. Kerry like Clinton aspires to greatness but does not know how to achieve it. He claims to have been hoodwinked by Bush when he voted to back the war in Iraq. Had he simply stated his position has changed since that time in light of developments, I would have see that as a positive character trait. Do we want a president who cannot accept responsibility or can be hoodwinked? Clark and Dean also seem unable to accept accountability for past statements and actions.

Democratic candidates should emulate the great democrat leaders of the past; the FDR’s the Truman’s, the Kennedy’s, the presidents who saw the positive side of this great nation.

 

[Loren Booda]

Zero,

Just imagine our telegenic presidents of today trying to communicate without television, and you realize something like I initially spoke of. What do we know of body language or facial expression through the radio? (I do feel more at ease closing my eyes when listening to speeches.) In analogy, many silent screen stars were at a loss when they were found totally unsuited for talkies.

Did not Reagan especially know how to manipulate the public by matching appearence with words? If a person avoided looking in your eyes (i. e., cameras), or obsessively stared at them, might you ascribe those actions as characteristic to instability or arrogance? I acknowledge your points (reading teleprompter, lack of experience) as more practical in the realm of public speeking, but one cannot ignore the high-level psychology taking place there, much like in multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.

(Please scratch the last sentence in my original post.)