(I admit I can't listen to Barney Frank. He is fingernails on a chalkboard to me, and he never shuts up.)
Let me change physical perfection, which does sound like I meant beauty when I didn't really mean exactly that, to a lack of distinguishing traits, oddnesses, and a desire for a certain "type".
(How DID Barney Frank get elected?)
I am not convinced, however, that the American people read very accurately at all using these cues. Obviously many "read" GW in a totally different way than you and Poet- which is correct? Dunno. Now I will have to go watch Letterman. Plus when you bring up the image-makers, I started wondering who CAN we trust? We are getting this creation, this faked icon, maybe we should stop looking and listening and just read what they say? Would that be safer? More reliable? All the things you and others have mentioned - nerves, tics, imitation of family traits- what to trust? What is really revealing of true character and what is just the variety in us all?
Good-looking people have the advantage from the get-go. Wasn't it Poet or you who posted a link to a test on biases ranking and assigning values to pictures and we all found out we had biases that surprised us?
Jumping around now, thinking about attractiveness-----poor Gore, who was fairly handsome, had NO personality. He DID give me the creeps, but only when he tried to create one- over and over, desperately.
Again, how important was personality pre-media days? WOuld he have fared better 60 years ago?
Maybe along with a lack of irritating physical traits, we want a candidate with movie star charisma now? Have we confused this type of charisma with true leadership?
That's certainly how Clinton won. Was a statesmanlike demeanor more influential years ago than playing the sax and feeling our pain?
Dunno again. I am not at all an historian, maybe it's always been like this and the same people would have won.(but I doubt it)
Enjoyed all the different ideas and views on how we try to read people and what we see. I think you are so right that we DO use these cues constantly in all our interactions, so it's natural to use them evaluating candidates- I am not sure how accurate they are though- especially now that we've talked about how they're manipulated. |
