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Monday, Oct 6, 2008
It's not enough to be smarter than George W. Bush -- you've got to show some real feeling.
Mar 12, 2004 | Having locked up the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. John Kerry is programmed to spend virtually every waking hour between now and Nov. 2 campaigning or raising money. In the interest of electoral success, though, it would be far more valuable for him to take a long break, get in touch with his feelings on the key issues of our day and learn how to convey those feelings to the public.
The contrasting TV sound bites by Kerry and George W. Bush on same-sex marriage illustrate, almost painfully, why the challenger will need to dramatically improve his connection with voters on emotional issues if he is to win in November. On Feb. 24, the day he came out for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Bush was portrayed with the usual TV set lighting in a beautiful room at the White House, speaking calmly and with decorum about his support for a constitutional amendment stipulating that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Kerry, in an AP videotape shown on AOL, was caught between campaign appearances; he was grim and uncomfortable, and spoke irritably:
"I believe as a matter of belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, that's my belief. If the amendment provides for partnership and civil union, which I believe is the appropriate way to extend rights, that would be a good amendment. I think that you need to have civil unions, that's my position. Everybody's known my position, there's nothing new about my position, it's been my position all the time that I've been in the Senate and throughout this race. I'm for civil unions. And I think that that is permissible within the state law, and ought to be, that's what I'm in favor of." [Emphasis added]
It is clear from this example, which is only one of dozens, that Kerry shares the same problem as Al Gore. He has not yet grasped what Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have intuitively understood: that the race for president is more about character, feelings and personality than positions or statistics. Swing voters in particular -- the roughly 20 percent of the electorate who by definition do not vote on a basis of party, policy or ideology -- are deeply influenced by their feeling toward the person they are entrusting with their lives.
Many Washington types, including the author, winced when we heard Jimmy Carter speak of wanting a government "as good as the American people," or Ronald Reagan speak of America as the "City on a Hill," or Bill Clinton say "I feel your pain," or George W. Bush's claim to be a "compassionate conservative." But they were largely successful because they, and/or their handlers, knew that these personal kinds of value statements were the deeper messages needed to reach swing voters.
CNN commentator Bill Schneider is right when he says the contest for the presidency is "the most personal vote" citizens cast. Policy, the state of the economy and international affairs count, of course. But people are also looking for something in the president that they seek in no other politician: a personal connection. The presidency is the only political office in America that still retains vestiges of the age-old combination of secular and sacred power. Many people, particularly in the post-9/11 era, want a president who will make them feel safer. And they make this judgment, often unconsciously, on the basis of their heart not their head, what they feel more than what they think. Kerry's successes in winning Massachusetts Senate elections and Democratic primaries are not directly relevant to what he will need to do to win the presidency.
An issue like same-sex marriage is a particular litmus test for a politician because it evokes so many deep feelings in people. Marriage directly impacts everything from our psyches and emotions to our finances, health and children. However one feels about it, few people are neutral on the subject. And the question of gays strikes even deeper chords in many people -- perhaps men in particular. One can debate the exact nature of the unconscious anxieties that photos of two men kissing trigger in the psyches of many American males, but the bottom line is this: It's not a pretty picture.
When addressing issues like this, Kerry needs to first go within and get in touch with his own feelings on the subject, and then seek to communicate directly, on a heart-to-heart basis, with potential voters who also feel deeply about the matter. In this case, for example, he might have made the following statement, but in such a tone and manner that made clear he had thought deeply about the issue and was approaching it with some emotional intelligence, with feeling:
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