Presidential Debates, Charisma and Mistrust of Washington
As the debates approached during the campaign just ended, I, the eternal optimist, had a thought which I tried to bury because it meant that what has just come to pass would come to pass, that Barack Obama would win.
And the thought was this: in every presidential election where there have been debates, the more charismatic candidate won the election. Just look at the roster, winner in bold.
- 1960: John F. Kennedy v. Richard Nixon
- 1976: Jimmy Carter v. Gerald R. Ford
- 1980: Jimmy Carter* v. Ronald Reagan
- 1984: Walter Mondale v. Ronald Reagan
- 1988: Michael Dukakis v. George H.W. Bush
- 1992: Bill Clinton v. George H.W. Bush
- 1996: Bill Clinton v. Bob Dole
- 2000: Al Gore v. George W. Bush
- 2004: John Kerry v. George W. Bush
- 2008: Barack Obama v. John McCain
Not just that. In every presidential election since 1976, save for 1988, the candidate perceived as more anti-Washington won as well.
——-
*If you ever watch video from the 1976 campaign and compare that to imagery from the 1980 campaign, it’s striking how less dynamic Jimmy Carter had become once elected.
7 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
[...] Presidential Debates, Charisma and Mistrust of Washington Kennedy v. Richard Nixon; 1976 Jimmy Carter v. Gerald R. Ford; 1980 Jimmy Carter* v. Ronald Reagan; 1984 Walter Mondale v. Ronald Reagan; 1988 Michael Dukakis v. George HW Bush; 1992 Bill Clinton v. George HW Bush; 1996 Bill Clinton v. … [...]
Pingback by Presidential Debates, Charisma and Mistrust of Washington — November 6, 2008 @ 5:27 pm - November 6, 2008
Here is my respones to the election as a gay Republican:
Comment by Justin Nichols — November 6, 2008 @ 5:57 pm - November 6, 2008
#2 – What reponse is that?
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — November 6, 2008 @ 7:27 pm - November 6, 2008
Also, you have to go back to 1976 to have a winning candidate with more military experience than the loser – assuming you give Gore’s Vietnam military jouralism stint the advantage over GWB’s national guard experience.
Comment by DaveO — November 6, 2008 @ 8:50 pm - November 6, 2008
Even Evan Thomas, the editor of Newsweek, is reported as saying the cult of Obama is a bit scary.
Comment by Swampfox — November 6, 2008 @ 9:17 pm - November 6, 2008
Dan, there is an excellent book called “The Selling of the President” that examines this very issue in the context of the Kennedy-Nixon debates. When I read it back in college it was out of print, but it appears that Amazon is carrying it now. I read it as part of a class on Mass Communications. very interesting read. Just thought you and others might be interested.
Comment by Mike — November 7, 2008 @ 1:11 pm - November 7, 2008
It’s only going to get creepier, Swampfox. Chairman O announces Mandatory Community Service. Call it the “Obama Jugend.”
Comment by V the K — November 7, 2008 @ 2:46 pm - November 7, 2008