January 4, 2008

"The common demoninator here, other than a patent lack of qualifications for the presidency, is likeability."

Power Line comments on what happened in Iowa.

IN THE COMMENTS: George writes:
Demoninator?

Is Huck the foretold anti-Christ?

28 comments:

George M. Spencer said...

Demoninator?

Is Huck the foretold anti-Christ?

Peter Hoh said...

Likeability matters. Duh.

Not that the guys at Powerline cared when it was their guy who was the likeable one.

Peter V. Bella said...

Hillary is not likable, Romney is not likable, and the others are just bland. Except for Ron Paul. He engenders hate.

MadisonMan said...

Except for Ron Paul.

You mean the guy who beat Rudy?

hdhouse said...

Oh that was enlightening. Badly drawn conclusions prematurely arrived at.

After 8 years of disliking someone with even sparser qualifications for president, the Franklin Pierce of our age, it appears that what we are looking at now is giving someone with some brains and/or common sense in to visit and lead.

I also wonder why the slams at Obama? What commentators who do that are saying, in effect "America - you are all stupid. You've been fooled and you are just too dumb to see that you are being hung out to dry".

Actually, the people are fairly smart. Then can see a huckster and after looking at the mistakes made in the last few elections, are now letting their gut feelings influence things instead of just what candidate handlers are spewing out as talking points.

Peter V. Bella said...

What does any of this have to do with the real story of the day. You people are so shallow, wallowing in celebrity politics that you have missed the most important story of the New Year-
the three hour Brittney Spears standoff with police.

hdhouse said...

middle class guy..."ron paul - he engenders hate"

i don't disagree with you but frankly i think he is refreshing and someone he is stricking a financial chord.

If the experts would shut up for a few months and let the candidates speak and let us take it in, maybe we can make some sense out of what is going on...but as i write this the market is set to go off a cliff, the brokerage houses are writing off zillions and the dollar is in free-fall.

George M. Spencer said...

Meanwhile, unmuddied, head high, expectations beaten, the hopes of a thousand pundits at his back, Fred sails a zephyr of confidence to New Hampshire.

You gotta love a guy whose face was run over by a tractor.

EnigmatiCore said...

Likability does not necessarily win Presidential nominations, but it has won Presidential elections since the unlikable Nixon imploded.

Carter was more likable than Ford.
Reagan was more likable than Carter.
Reagan was more likable than Mondale.
Bush I was more likable than Dukakis.
Clinton was more likable than Bush I.
Clinton was more likable than Dole.
Bush II was slightly more likable than the five different flavors of Gore he faced.
Bush II was more likable than Kerry.

While the candidates talk about the desire for change, what would be a change is for the less likable candidate to win. Iowa Democrats were being wise to turn from the unlikable Hillary to the likable Obama. I suspect Iowa Republicans are, contrary to pundit opinion, choosing the most electable Republican by going for Huckabee.

Sometimes, the simplest plausible explanation is the most likely. Someone should write a law about that tendency.

bwebster said...

Is Huck the foretold anti-Christ?

Actually, a few weeks ago I did a Google search on each of the major Presidential candidates' names plus the term 'AntiChrist', expecting Romney to lead the pack. Stunningly, he was dead last -- Huckabee was the leader. Even more stunningly, Fred Thompson was #2 on the list. (Fred Thompson?)

I have no explanation. But I may re-run the search in a week or so. ..bruce..

titus08 said...

Kind of like when you all voted for Bush

Peter Hoh said...

Titus, would it be possible for you to acknowledge that not everyone who participates in the comments here voted for Bush and/or thinks alike?

marklewin said...

The thing about the seeming establishment torch holders of their respective parties, Mitt for the Pubs, Hillary for the Dems.....they both appear the most phoney. They are creations built from the outside in, rather than the inside out.

Peter V. Bella said...

I like Ike was the popular slogan. I like Huck just doesn't resonate.

Freeman Hunt said...

I like Huck just doesn't resonate.

Yeah, it doesn't rhyme. I can think of a word that rhymes with Huck. Not so much of a pro slogan though.

Henry said...

hdhouse said, actually, the people are fairly smart.

They just used to be dumb.

That's what you're saying, right?

HD, I'm not sure that Huckabee is much evidence for your thesis. He reminds me a lot of the Bush of 2000. He's an inexperienced Southern governor focusing on domestic issues with absolutely no clue about foreign policy.

Remember that Bush in 2000 campaigned against the idea of the U.S. as global policeman. Instead he offered the vaguely isolationist idea of "humility" in foreign affairs.

* * *

Freeman -- well yeah. But how about, "Stuck on Huck", "The buck stops with Huck" or, for the anti-national health care vote, "Huck's no Canuck."

former law student said...

"The common demoninator here, other than a patent lack of qualifications for the presidency, is likeability."

Also the common denominator between the current President and the frontrunning candidates: patent lack of qualifications (too dumb even to get into UT law school, bailed out of difficulties in business life by daddy's friends): check; likeability: check.

Peter Hoh said...

Slogan: What the Huck?

jeff said...

"Also the common denominator between the current President and the frontrunning candidates: patent lack of qualifications (too dumb even to get into UT law school,"

Lord. Again? Really? Those MBA's just getting handed out like candy in the Ivy League? Is it asking to much to just disagree with his policies?

blake said...

bwebster--

I would think that by not enclosing the name in quotes, you're hitting the fact that "Mitt" and "Romney" are less common in general than some of the other names.

Enigma--

Bush I was more likable than...anyone? Really?

jeff said...

"Bush I was more likable than...anyone? Really?"

Personally? Sure. Main problem with being president is that he wanted to be liked by everyone. BFF with Bill Clinton now you know.

EnigmatiCore said...

"Bush I was more likable than...anyone? Really?"

Actually, he is not a dislikable chap, at all.

Not particularly likable, but not dislikable.

And the Democrats in 88 decided to run an automaton devoid of any hint of personality or charisma.

former law student said...

W.'s mediocrity made quite a contrast to Rhodes Scholar Bill Clinton, but it shows the advantage of picking the right daddy:

Subsequently, Bush's SAT score was been deleted from this website:
Although he had an SAT score of 1206, 200 points below that of the average Yale freshman of 1970 , he benefitted from an admissions policy which gave preference to the children of alumni (his score was at roughly the 70th percentile nationwide).
http://web.archive.org/web/20040602232932/http://www.usa-presidents.info/gwbush.htm

Texas Gov. George W. Bush's 1206 (566 verbal, 640 math)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000901233011/http://www.uwire.com/content/topnews032100001.html

Bush's GPA at Yale: 2.35
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/benedetto/2005-06-10-benedetto_x.htm

Bush as Harvard MBA student:
For 25 years, Yoshi Tsurumi, one of George W. Bush's professors at Harvard Business School, was content with his green-card status as a permanent legal resident of the United States. But Bush's ascension to the presidency in 2001 prompted the Japanese native to secure his American citizenship. The reason: to be able to speak out with the full authority of citizenship about why he believes Bush lacks the character and intellect to lead the world's oldest and most powerful democracy.

"At first, I wondered, 'Who is this George Bush?' It's a very common name and I didn't know his background. And he was such a bad student that I asked him once how he got in. He said, 'My dad has good friends.'" Bush scored in the lowest 10 percent of the class.

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/09/16/tsurumi/index1.html

former law student said...

whoops: I didn't finish changing "has been" to "was."

Revenant said...

Carter was more likable than Ford

He was?

Freeman Hunt said...

I don't understand why people are ever concerned with candidates' SAT scores or college records. How are those relevant? Presumably anyone running has been an adult for quite a while and therefore has more reliable indicators of fitness for office in his history. I'm not sure that SAT scores or college grades are even indicators at all.

bwebster said...

I would think that by not enclosing the name in quotes, you're hitting the fact that "Mitt" and "Romney" are less common in general than some of the other names.

I'm not sure "Romney" is all that uncommon (in terms of non-political postings) than most of the other candidate surnames (Clinton, Obama, McCain, Giuliani), the big exceptions being 'Edwards' and 'Paul'.

On the other hand, the majority of posts about the political candidates tend to drop the first name, so the list may be skewed for that reason (i.e. 'Romney Anti-Christ' gets more hits that 'Mitt Romney Anti-Christ'). As I said in my original posting, the search was quick-and-dirty, but interesting nevertheless. ..bruce..

former law student said...

Presumably anyone running has been an adult for quite a while and therefore has more reliable indicators of fitness for office in his history.

Yes: W. failed at everything he ever tried. Luckily daddy and/or daddy's friends bailed him out each time.