General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Hoping not to sound facile... (wish me luck!) [View all]NanceGreggs
(27,813 posts)It is not a matter of "Bernie will not be detached", etc.
The point IS "the primary critiques of Obama's performance were that he looked detached; seldom addressed his opponent directly; and was often looking down while Romney was speaking."
People were commenting on how the candidates "looked", not about the issues they spoke to.
Do you think there's going to be a completely different audience watching the debates than historically so? Do you think people who are more interested in the candidates' body language, facial expressions, posture, etc., are suddenly going to hear Sanders speak an say, "OMG! He's a truth-teller, for sure!!! I can see it!!!"
The debates do little in educating the audience on actual issues - the takeaway is always the "perception' of the candidates, which, unfortunately, often comes down to who "looked" more truthful as opposed to who "told the truth".
There is an incredible amount of political naivete in thinking that anyone and everyone who "gets to know Bernie" or "hears what Bernie has to say" is going to be somehow mesmerized by by his straightforwardness - or that anyone and everyone is going to believe that he is any different than ever other politician they've ever encountered.
The Sanders supporters are always saying "but he's different, he's the REAL deal." Well, just because YOU see him that way doesn't mean that everyone else will. And yet, for some reason, so many of you seem to fervently believe that everyone is an easy convert.
There are certain realities that have to be faced. In politics, things like "perception" - no matter how skewed, how biased, how off-base - are still a driving force. And pretending that Bernie has changed all that by virtue of who is is, and what his message is, is simply ridiculous.
Bernie Sanders may be "different in all the right ways". But the political circus is still the same as it ever was, and the "rules of perception", if I may, haven't changed one iota.