So, I’m channel surfing at my New York City hotel room, coordinating the crap I lugged from a conference to my hotel room floor, crap I’m about to pay an extravagant surcharge to lug over the edge and then throw out once I get home. No point in channel browsing,’cause there is just 1 item about, presidential hopefuls strutting their material.
Despite the volume turned it off didn’t take me very long to dimension.
Disclaimer. I don’t have any business writing a post about American politics. I understand nothing about politics and I’m Canadian to boot.
However, I do understand that all business is show business and politics is no exception.
After glancing at the chorus line of official contenders, I chose a few to whom I’d give a call-back (or as they state about American Idol, send”Into Hollywood” to another round). Who? An uptight looking lady and a magnetic”what is his ethnicity?” Man with a fascinating name. The rest of’em? A lot of dull looking old men in suits.
A month after, I visit an headline at The Huffington Post from The New York Times,”Young Americans Love Obama, Clinton”. The report states that Americans are familiar with a couple of the candidates. Duh. I doubt it Americans that are young.
In his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell writes a research where students asked to rank the effectiveness of that teacher and were revealed 3 ten of a teacher. Those results were compared with the opinions of students who’d been at that instructor’s class for a semester. The results were the same, despite the fact that the clips were revealed together with the volume. No real surprise there.
I didn’t want 3 ten second clips. Woman, African American, older white men in suits.
But let’s dig a bit deeper and assess their rear stories.
The lady’s a no-brainer. She is a sharp tongued Yale Law School graduate who was Mrs. President. Forget that she’s got the charisma of a lady, the first lady’s got an intriguing story and best of all, she’s a woman, and we have never had a female president, so she stands out. She is the long-suffering”that he done her wrong” wife of the affable but naughty donut eating President that”didn’t have sex with this woman”.
OK, so we never really liked Hill, however we didn’t suspect that she was the brains of the operation. We were not convinced about her”stand by your man” mindset, but we understood why she did itthe woman had larger plans. A blot on the dress of some other woman was not likely to offend her.
Who can withstand with the melodrama for four more years? Consider the ratings!
Can Bill schlep around the country to stand behind her podium? Can there be a deal? She looks another way, he puts her into the White House”? What will he do behind the curtains? Don’t touch that dial!
And we will not only be getting the initial”First Man” in U.S. history, we are going to be acquiring two Presidents for the purchase cost of one. The Mr and Mrs. President Show. But the actual reason this woman has a shooter? She’ll find the curiosity vote. Most of us wanna observe how she’s going to put on her hair.
Another competitor, is a Hawaiian born product using a”black as pitch” Kenyan father and a”white as milk” mother from Kansas (his words, not ours ). Throw in a stint at Indonesia and things have started to look interesting. He states his name implies”Blessed by G-d” in Swahili and you gotta admit, the guy has an angelic look about him.
Another options? A lot of old men in suits. (OK, so you’ve got a Mexican mother and a few aren’t gray haired yet, but they might as well be.)
I didn’t notice ’em.
You can not get elected if people don’t know that you exist. It is no denying that actors do well in politics. The Republicans have figured this out. Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ronald Reagan captured the lead. (Don’t think Law and Order guy will.)
Celebrities get that”most of biz is showbiz”. You gotta confidence. You gotta have a story. And understand how to let it. You gotta have a look. A name. You gotta give us something to remember you by.
Most significant? You gotta be able to contact your audience.
A concise glance at history shows my point. No one would ever accuse George W. of being the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is sharper than the cardboard cutouts they threw into the ring to run against him, smart enough to understand that we will not vote for men we don’t relate to even if they are brighter, more articulate and have a much better plan.
So whatever you are running for, whatever function you’re following, V.P of Finance PTA President or even American President– recall, all biz is showbiz!
And this, my friends, is the awkward truth.
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