Obama by a head

By GottaLaff

The Rational Explainer Syndrome seems to be common among some Democratic leaders: Gore, Kerry, now... Obama? He seems to have more emotion (definitely more charisma) going for him than the other two, but unfortunately, that "professorial" label has stuck.

I'm a firm believer in logic and clear communication, but yes, you do have to pull an audience in. It's something so basic that I teach it in every theater class. Without the emotional pull, the speaker/performer isn't letting us in, isn't engaging us, and that's a no-no, regardless of whether the stage is theatrical or political (often synonymous):

Jon Meacham says President Obama "has grandly failed so far in doing what presidents must do, which is to lead the nation emotionally as well as rationally. It would be great if politics were fact-based, but it is not, and it is surely not nuance-based. What works in a classroom or a think tank does not work on Capitol Hill or in the White House. Obama sometimes seems to be running the Brookings Institution, not the country."

I wouldn't go quite that far, but a little more emoting might help to revive that bond some are looking for.