So I’m curious, dear readers: who do you find more charismatic? Or are neither of them charismatic?
(I should mention that I don’t live in Colorado, and know very little about these two men’s policies. I only blog about them because it relates to my ongoing analysis of the power of charisma.)
Jane Norton lost narrowly to Ken Buck, who can be seen here not being charismatic:
Like I said when they first came to my attention, Norton did not seem terribly charismatic; but she did seem less anti-charismatic than Bennet. I still think Norton will be the nominee, though. But I do not like Bennet’s chances of beating either of them. Romanoff, however, has the charisma to knock out either Buck or Norton.
He’s already been doing better than Bennet; now he’s closing in on the likely Republican nominee. As I noted last month, Romanoff is the most charismatic of the three.
Obama went to Colorado to help out Senator Michael Bennet, who is facing a tough fight for reelection. Alright, Bennet; do you have any charisma?
No. Who are you up against? Well, first of all, there’s Andrew Romanoff, a primary challenger:
Okay, this guy is way more charismatic. Good work, Dem Strategists. And the likely Republican nominee, Jane Norton:
Well, okay, she’s not especially charismatic; she sounds pretty stilted in the way she speaks. However, I think Norton is more telegenic than Bennet. I’d also have to say that Bennet has a more irritating voice, as well. This is not a good mixture for Mr. Bennet. I think that this is one of the real dangers of appointing somebody to fill a Senate seat, or other elected office, as was the case with Bennet. It means they have to go and run for reelection without ever having had the all-important charisma factor tested. Add to that the fact that it’s always harder to run as an incumbent than a challenger, and you have a recipe for failure. Anyway, this is something that Obama really has got to figure out sooner or later: He can’t grant other people his personal charisma. It will not work. I don’t actually know why, either. It should work, but the evidence says it doesn’t. With that it mind, he shouldn’t go around trying to help doomed, non-charismatic candidates. There is a danger that, charisma being less of a factor in primaries than general elections, Obama’s aiding this Bennet guy will end up letting Bennet beat Romanoff and setting him up to lose to Norton. I’m glad I’m not a Democrat.