One of the “givens” of the non-ending Presidential campaigns, is the early annointing of a media “front-runner” who has the money OR the name power OR the organization OR the charisma.
So look at Hillary Clinton.
Oh, well: three out of four ain’t bad…
Times Online has a piece that utters the seemingly unutterable in some quarters: Hillary is often charisma-challenged, which can be a problem when the media is finding huge interest in anything it runs on Illinois Senator Barack Obama (how long will it be before HE’S asked “boxers or briefs”?)
So Hillary Clinton is the front-runner for the Democrats? Doesn’t front runner status in terms of $$$ and intra- and inter-party connections translate into instant nomination?
If he were alive, then you could ask former President Texas Governor John Connally who was SURE to be a Republican front-runner…until the primary voters had a slight disagreement with the media and talking heads.
Despite winning re-election to the US Senate by a handsome margin in mid-term voting last month, Clinton has had little to celebrate as polls from the presidential primary battlegrounds signalled early trouble for her historic bid to become America’s first woman president. In Iowa, the Midwestern state that will once again open the primary season with its caucus votes on January 14, 2008, Clinton slumped to fourth place with only 10% of the vote in a survey of 600 likely Democratic voters.
In New Hampshire, which will hold the first full primary eight days later, Clinton had appeared to be cruising comfortably with a 23-point lead over her Democrat rivals — until last weekend, when a poll in the Concord Monitor newspaper showed her only one point ahead of Senator Barack Obama, the comparative political newcomer who is considering a similarly historic attempt to become America’s first black president.
And what’s going on with Obama? It’s clearly that elusive “C” factor, a kind of stage-presence coupled with speeches that raise hopes more often than justifiable fears, all coming across in a tone that all but those who instantly dismiss him for partisan or political reasons find as sounding sincere. That “c” factor — so difficult to define — also means the person is able to deliver a speech in a way that connects with listeners who might not even agree with him/her and draw them into a vision that they feel is attainable and desireable. MORE:
Obama’s emergence as a charismatic alternative to the Democratic party’s veteran leadership — and the arrival in the race last week of former Senator John Edwards, the losing vice-presidential candidate in 2004 — have electrified Washington and placed Clinton under early pressure to abandon her cautious approach to the presidency and take to the hustings months earlier than she might have planned.
So now she faces a double-whammy of the “C” factor. Edwards stumbled a bit in 2004 when his advance-billing as a stemwinding speaker and all-out “C factor” man seemed diminished by an often-by-rote delivery. Plus, he looked awkward (except for a few moments) while debating with Vice President Dick Cheney. But he has had some years to polish his national skills…and could be formidable.
So what are Senator Clinton’s supporters advising now?
Several Democratic strategists last week urged Clinton to unleash a “charisma offensive� in the new year to counter the saturated media coverage that has helped propel Obama up the polls
That might be tough. Hillary Clinton is not as wooden on the stump as former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis or as ineffectual but loud in triggering the “C factor” (or not triggering it) as former Kansas Senator Bob Dole.
But she has gotten where she is not just because of her name but because of adept political positioning…and never forgetting that her first duty, if she wanted to stay in office, was to be responsible and RESPONSIVE to her CONSTITUENTS in New York State and wow them with her efficiency. From all reports (written and from some friends) she has been a good nuts-and-bolt Senator.
But a “charisma offensive??”
Can Hillary find some for sale on eBay?
Be sure to read the post on this same subject by coblogger Michael van der Galien HERE.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.