Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
The New York Times has an interesting piece that shows how little politics and policy matter to some voters. I've long suspected that my mother's support of Mitt Romney is 90% about how he presents himself. Assuming I'm right, she's not alone. Of course, one person can view Romney's style of speaking as awesome and reassuring and another as slick and annoying.
Some people can't understand why folks are drawn to Ron Paul. On the other hand, when a National Journal reporter described a confrontation with him (the congressman wanted to eat his breakfast in peace), everyone sided with Paul and found him charming.
A few lines from the Times:
“It drives me crazy,” Rose Williams, a retired teacher in Bridgewater, N.H., said of Mr. Romney’s voice. “When he’s on TV or on a commercial, I put it on mute.”...
Phil Dillingham, 62, a retired manager at Ford Motor Company who lives in Moultonborough, N.H., said he could never vote for Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, because of what he called the candidate’s swagger.
“He strikes me as too Bushlike, too strutty, too Texan,” Mr. Dillingham said.
Eva Dunn, 60, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, has no patience for Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former governor of Utah. Her objection: his demeanor in the debates.
“He comes across as a preacher, and I just want to take his hands and tie them behind his back because he’s always pleading,” she said....
Ann Szot, of Keene, N.H., said her husband “thinks Ron Paul looks like he should be sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons.” Yet he still plans to vote for him, she said. ...
Kimber Harmon, 54, who described herself as a homemaker in Hollis, N.H., favors Mr. Huntsman, a long-married father of seven, explicitly contrasting his personal life with that of Mr. Gingrich. “I’ve been married for 32 years,” she said. “It bothers me.”
Mr. Huntsman’s brood, she said, feels like a natural first family. “You’ve got to think of who you want to see greeting guests at the front door of the White House,” she said.
So who wins your personality primary? Who loses? The last debate I watched cemented my view that Rick Perry is the guy I'd most like to talk to at a barbecue. This does not earn him my support beyond the personality primary, but there you go.
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Jun '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Gov. Perry seems like the one with the best personality, who you would enjoy talking to and who would enjoy talking to you. Santorum similarly but there would be no small talk. It would be on important issues and a tad intense. Newt and huntsman seem like they'd be looking over you to see who else there was to talk to. I see Michele as saying pleasantries but movng on quickly but being vey nice and courteous. Mitt seems like a very nice man, like the sucessful husband of your sister who comes to the family reunion back home and does his best to fit in. Everyone likes him, some are jealous, and afterward he says to the sister "do we have to do that next year too?"
Apr '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
After Herman Cain dropped out, the personality quotient of the entire field dropped by about 50%. I'd rather attend a barbecue with James Lileks than any of these candidates, but we're electing a president, not a buddy.
Nov '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Having had dinner with Mr. Lileks on the NRO cruise, I can second that. Have you noticed how his brain seems to be constantly trying to outrun his corpus? A really engaging guy. Would that at least one of our candidates were so...
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
I guess Rick Perry wins my vote in the personality primary too. I think he's the only one who wouldn't make me feel like he was wasting his time by talking to me.
Although, yesterday I read that Jon Huntsman does the family grocery shopping himself at Trader Joe's every Friday, and it gave him a big boost in my estimation of the man's normality.
Dec '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Gary Johnson
Jun '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
I'd rather talk to Newt. All the others are too boring.
Mar '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Candidate I’d like to attend a rock concert with: Gary Johnson
Candidate I’d trust my kids’ college fund with: Mitt Romney
Candidate I’d like to drink a beer with: Rick Perry
Candidate I’d like to do my taxes: Michele Bachmann
Candidate I’d like to sit in a history seminar with: Newt Gingrich
Candidate I’d like to attend a cocktail party with: Jon Huntsman (stipulation: he brings his daughters)
Candidate I’d let be a babysitter to my grandkids: Herman Cain
Candidate I’d take communion with: Rick Santorum
Candidate I think is suited to be President:
Mar '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
I have no clue to the personalities- I have not seem them on news shows, talk shows, nor debates. I just try to read about them.
Jan '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
Ha! But I wonder if he would end up feeding the welfare state...like everyone else in the GOP race is very likely to do.
Mar '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Herman Cain would definitely win if he were still in the race. A good example of this was when a young boy went to the trouble of asking many the candidates what superhero they would like to be. Romney hesitated and then said Superman but quickly turned to other business, Ron Paul simply ignored the boy but Cain, after picking Superman, engaged the boy in a conversation about who he liked and why. Though I'm a Romney supporter I wish he were a little less programmed.
Dec '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Herman Cain and Rick Perry seem to both have personalities that approximate those of thoughtful human beings, so they certainly would win the personality contest in my book.
That story in the National Journal about Ron Paul's breakfast, though? I like Rep. Paul even more, now. No entourage. Eating at the same breakfast buffet as everyone else at the Embassy Suites. Telling a reporter to buzz off until he's eaten, and read the paper. God bless 'em.
Jun '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
I liked Cain (duh) and think Mitt gets a bad rap. I'm sure Perry's fine company for about 30 minutes...not sure he'd wear well.
Huntsman irritates me to no end, but upon reflection it's because he reminds me of Dan Quayle: a decent guy who is taking bad advice and trying to be someone else for the campaign.
Mar '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
hehe..Sorry, NP, but when I first saw that post, I thought "well, that's his bumper sticker right there!" Stick a "Vote" between "Perfect" and "Gary" and it's a wrap.
Rick Perry can come over for a beer. Michelle and Herman can too.
Newt can come over, I guess, but if he makes a pass at my girlfriend, I'm going to have to fold him up.
Mitt is going to try to sell me insurance. <sigh>
Jon snickers at his own jokes. One can laugh at one's own jokes...if they are really funny. One can smile at the reactions of others to one's jokes...if there are any. Snickering makes you look goofy.
It is patently unfair to mention "Rick Santorum" and "personality" in the same sentence.
Which leaves us with crazy ol' Uncle Ron. Things will go swimmingly until he gets me in a corner and starts to tell me that Charlie Rose and Queen Sophia of Spain were in St. Moritz meeting with David Rockefeller and the Greek Minister of Finance in June and do I realize the sinister implications...and I switch to bourbon.
Aug '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Perry's charm is that he talks to people as if he honestly thinks they can put aside their prejudice against -or in favor of -his background and evaluate what he has to say and his record as governor of Texas. It's hard not to like someone who is treating you that way.
Edited on Dec 30, 2011 at 1:18pmNov '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Best personality: Ron Paul. (Look up on youtube his debate with Buckley)
Worst personality: Newt Gingrich.
May '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
Best guy to go camping with: Rick Perry
Best guy to have dinner with: Newt Gingrich
Best guy to go into business with: Mitt Romney
Best guy to have as a son-in-law: Rick Santorum or Tim Pawlenty
Best guy to talk to about that niggling medical issue: Ron Paul
Can't think of anything I'd want to do with Bachman or Huntsman
If I was young and single, best guy to pick up chicks with: Herman Cain
Edited on Dec 30, 2011 at 12:38pmRe: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
I met him when he passed through Hillsdale, and I agree.
Aug '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
About I got from this post was a queasy feeling about the people in New Hampshire. But then I am a midwesterner and think that most of them are liberal ,regardless of their party affiliation. If that retired Ford guy has a word like "Bushy" in his vocabulary, he's not representing me and I can guess what newspapers he reads and how often he listens to NPR. So, first we have a round of weather dependent caucuses peopled by foam-flecked Ron Paul types, then the LL Bean liberal republican beauty contest in New Hampshire.
And from these two touch football scrimmages, we will have the press crowing gravidly about picking the winner.
Mollie, this Personality Primary stuff has got to stop ! I thought we were trying to find someone to run the country ? Heck all the demos have to do is keep Obama hidden.
Mar '11
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
For me it is just a bonus that the governor with the jobs record and solid economic growth plan happens to be Perry, who I find most personally engaging. It helps that he can fund-raise happily and can build a groundswell of support based on his general likability.
Oct '10
Re: Who Gets Your Vote In The Personality Primary?
The Cain Train.