The Politics of Personality | Glading

By Dale Glading
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It all started in 1960 with the first televised presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy. Those who listened on the radio thought that Nixon was the winner, whereas those who watched on TV felt that Kennedy came across better.

And that quickly, the politics of personality was born.

The elections of 1964, 1968, and 1972 were relatively unaffected by this new phenomenon, although Johnson did a fair job of demonizing Goldwater and Nixon played the law and order card expertly against Humphrey. However, it resurfaced in 1976 when a grinning peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia named Jimmy Carter defeated the more reserved incumbent, President Gerald Ford. Ford’s pipe smoking and pratfalls painted him as less down-to-earth than the softball playing, Sunday School teaching Carter.

Four years later, Ronald Reagan turned the tables on Carter. A master communicator who could win over a voter with a head tilt and a smile, Reagan exuded personality. Meanwhile, Carter, beaten and battered by a deep recession and the Iran hostage crisis, appeared serious and sullen. The result was a 489 electoral vote landslide for the “Gipper,” a total that he eclipsed four years later with a 525 electoral vote smackdown of Walter Mondale.

The 1988 election featured two reticent New Englanders but, as his heir-apparent, George H.W. Bush rode Reagan’s coattails to victory over the even more dour Michael Dukakis. What followed was a rollercoaster ride that – at its apex – saw Bush 41 with an 89% approval rating in February 1991 after the First Gulf War. Unfortunately for the elder Bush, that number plummeted to just 29% on the day that a charismatic southern governor named Bill Clinton claimed the Democrat nomination. By that stage of the race, the November writing was already on the wall.

Clinton, buoyed by Newt Gingerich’s strong economy, won re-election over Bob “it’s my turn” Dole, a World War II hero who made the Mona Lisa look cheerful by comparison. George W. Bush versus Al Gore in 2000 was a toss-up as was Bush 43 versus John Kerry in 2004 (edge to “W” for being more homespun with his Texas twang). However, the 2008 race was a classic “personality on parade” election with Barack Obama promising an optimistic future filled with “hope and change.” By contrast, John McCain more closely resembled the “Ancient Mariner”… and the result was an Obama tsunami.

By 2012, President Obama had lost some of his cool factor, but Mitt Romney seemed unable or unwilling to muster much of a challenge. Arguably the stiffest candidate in modern presidential history, it was Romney’s election to lose – and somehow, he managed to do exactly that.

Which brings us to 2016, which featured the rampant speculation of what a Trump administration would look like versus Hillary Clinton, who had seemingly been in the public eye forever. Americans decided that “the Donald” was worth the risk simply because Hillary was that unlikeable.

By 2020, President Trump was no longer an unknown commodity. Either you loved him (or at least his policies) or you loathed him. Seemingly, there was very little middle ground. But that is exactly where the election was won or lost, in the middle ground occupied by independent voters who simply couldn’t get past Mr. Trump’s tirades and tweets. They may have agreed with his policies and approved of his overall job performance, but they despised his personality. And so, all Joe Biden had to do was to stay hunkered down in his basement bunker and appear less offensive… and marginally competent.

Like they have done for much of the past 60 years, apparently enough Americans based their vote on likeability to hand Joe Biden the keys to the Oval Office.

So, where does that leave Republicans for 2024? Either President Trump – should he decide to run again (and he will) – needs to soften his rough edges or the GOP needs to find a candidate whose personality is less abrasive. If 2020 taught us anything, it is that being right on policies doesn’t always win elections. Smiles and head tilts do.

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Dale Glading is an ordained minister and former N.J. Republican candidate for Congress. 

Dale Glading
About Dale Glading 95 Articles
Dale Glading is an ordained minister and former N.J. Republican candidate for Congress.