How do you tell a Democrat from a Republican?
March 20th, 2008 | Published in Thoughts, Current Events, Politics, Personal | 3 Comments
When I was a child I used to watch politics on C-SPAN and CNN with my grandmother. For fun, I’d guess who were the Democrats and Republicans. I could do it pretty well. I had a rigorous test: I would look at their faces and decide if they looked mean or nice. The nice ones were Republicans, and the mean ones were Democrats. It never worked out perfectly, but I was right more than wrong.
I’m sure that doesn’t give any hints about the political affiliation of my family. I assure you, I was very objective and unbiased and remain so to this day.
What happens if I apply my old philosophy to the 2008 campaign? Huckabee has the most real smile and I would inevitably thought him a Republican. He’s sort of the funny Uncle in the race, someone you like and respect but think he’d be better at running a tractor than the country. McCain I might have mistaken for a democrat, though. His smile is more grim, yet there is kindness there. Obama I would have mistaken for a Republican for sure. If you didn’t already know, he’s going to win. Hillary, however, would have been unmistakably Democrat. I would have been afraid of that smile.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm (#)
And Paul? What about his smile?
(C’mon, I had to ask!) ;)
March 20th, 2008 at 1:48 pm (#)
Republican. But there’s no chance of him winning, so I don’t even think of him in the race anymore. He has some good ideas, but attracts too many extremists. That’s a good warning sign IMO. The whole newsletter thing left a bad taste in my mouth and haven’t thought much about him since.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:47 pm (#)
During the ‘04 race, I remember my younger sister shouting upon seeing Al Gore’s talking head on the TV screen: “He looks like a snake!” I thought of that immediately when I read this post. I imagine a lot of us do/did this with politicians.
And Hillary’s smile gives me the shivers from any angle.