How (Not) to Sound Presidential
Let me start by saying I like former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. I met him a few times and always found him likable, down to earth, and remarkably normal for a professional politician. Nothing about him sets you on fire, but nothing quite ices you down either (a fact that seems to represent the sum total of the Pawlenty campaign strategy at the moment).
This being punditry, of course, a compliment is always a down payment on criticism. In this case, the target is Pawlenty's rhetorical misfires, which were on display in a speech he gave to a group of College Republicans in Des Moines on Friday night. Radio Iowa reports:
The moment Pawlenty uttered Charlie Sheen’s name the giggling began. “Now, we may not in this room have ‘tiger blood’ like he does,” Pawlenty began and the crowd laughed. “But we do have something else in common with him. There’s going to be a lot of winning on the Republican side in 2012.” The crowd clapped; a few cheered.
A few moments later, as Pawlenty told the College Republicans Obama had “duped” their generation in the 2008 election, Pawlenty made a cultural reference to another entertainer with whom the crowd is quite familiar. “What the younger voters have figured out this is really a broken relationship. He made soaring promises, set grand expectations. He’s broken those promises. He’s failed to fulfill the expectations. If this was a Lady Gaga song, the relationship between the youth vote and Barack Obama would be ‘Bad Romance,’” Pawlenty said, as the crowd began to react, a bit more slowly than they had at the Sheen reference. “You know what I’m talking about.” The crowd applauded.
As a general rule, presidents and would-be presidents should deploy pop culture references very sparingly. There are several reasons for this:
- It makes them look unserious -- the general expectation is that an individual with Oval Office ambitions will spend more time reading The Economist than Entertainment Weekly. While you don't have to be stodgy all the time, gravitas is bought dear and sold cheap. Any unforced error that undermines your claims to being taken seriously isn't worth the candle.
- Politicos are usually too insulated to do topical humor -- Try as they might to combat it, most politicians and their staffers live in a bubble that keeps them perpetually at arm's length from the broader cultural zeitgeist. As a result, politicians who attempt to deliver a Tonight Show monologue on the stump usually end up sounding like they're hosting a rerun. Look no further than Pawlenty's riffs: a reference to Charlie Sheen catchphrases that fatigued most of the public weeks ago and a tip of the hat to a Lady GaGa song from 2009
- "Pop" Often Comes off as "Pander" -- Most politicians who feel compelled to name check the celebrity fad du jour are obviously doing so under duress. While there may be a few genuine culture vultures among the ranks of presidential candidates (Mike Huckabee seems to be one such), the net effect for all the rest is diminishing. All too often, they end up sounding like "the cool dad" -- the hapless paternal who drops half-understood cultural references in a desperate bid to be liked rather than respected.
Tim Pawlenty is a serious guy with a serious record running a serious campaign for his party's presidential nomination. His rhetoric on the stump should reflect nothing less.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
Oh. I thought this was a post about one of my favorite TV dads - Phil Dunphy. But... I see it's not... Okay, I'll be back to actually read this post and try to write something of worth. But first, I've gotta eat dinner with the fam-fam.
Jul '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
Hey, don't be so hard on Pawlenty. I thought it was pretty groovy...you know, for a guy from Minnesota.
Jul '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
It makes them look unserious
Explain Bill Clinton.
Jun '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
He's no James Lileks, but Pawlenty has a lot of bases covered. He grew up Catholic, he converted to evangelical Protestantism, and he has a Mormon bishop's sense of humor.
Oct '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
Troy, he was addressing a group of college kids...
Mar '11
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
I agree with you, Troy. As reported, Pawlenty’s comments come across as unfunny and forced. But a lot depends on how his audience responded. Gifted speakers generally know how to read and play to the room.
While we’re living in an age of electronic recall and any politician’s message may find its way to unintended audiences, do we really want to encourage candidates for office to speak so defensively? Humor and candor carry risks, but they can also set a candidate apart from the pack and satisfy voters’ desire for less packaging. Chris Christie is a good example.
Nov '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
I'm all in favor of less packaging, but with rare exceptions, when conservatives try to sound hip, it comes off as forced and condescending. And really, no politician, under any circumstances, should ever imply that (s)he has anything in common with Charlie Sheen.
Apr '11
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
Speaking of "hip," imagine T-Paw making those timely references to Charlie Sheen, but its during his campaign for the 2020 Republican nomination, and you have Mitt Romney's cringe-worthy visit to a Georgia MLK parade in '08, where he chants "Who let the dogs out!!! Woo! Woo!" to a group of black teenagers. *shudder*
And be sure to watch to the end. You don't want to miss Mitt complimenting an infant on his "Bling Bling."
Ugh. And least Democrats know enough to stick to timeless panders - like adopting a fake regional accent, ala Hillary at a gospel church in Alabama.
It'll take a lot for any Republican to ever top this:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RCp8Edp4pfo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
May '10
Re: How (Not) to Sound Presidential
Exactly. You talk to the college kids differently from the way you talk to the Seniors Coalition. I have no issue with making jokes that fit the audience.
Pandering is promising goodies to a group based on the group identification. Had he promised them free tuition or expanded Pell Grants, yeah. That was not the message, and traditional Republicans need to loosen up a bit.