Obama's historic victory only confirms one thing: charisma, more than anything, determines election results.
More than policies, more than character, more than track record, more than anything, charisma does a President make. Let's look at the evidence:
- In '08, Obama is no doubt more charismatic than McCain.
- In 00' and '04, Bush, though somewhat dim-witted in perception, was still more charismatic than both Kerry and Gore (ironically, Gore became surprisingly charismatic AFTER he exited politics).
- In '92 and '96, Clinton was more charismatic than both Dole and Bush.
- In '88, Bush was more charismatic than Dukakis.
- In '84 and '80, Reagan was more charismatic than Mondale and Carter.
- In '76, Carter was more charismatic than Ford.
- In '72, my understanding is both Nixon and McGovern were charismatic, but McGovern's ill-focused charisma might actually prove to be an anomaly.
FYI, here's an interesting and informative site on the history of Presidential Elections.
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