Likability in Politics

*Originally published on 9/21/09


A lot of people hate George W. Bush. I mean, they despise him with every fiber of their being. It's really weird. I know his policies weren't the most popular, but it seemed like some people had sworn some sort of blood oath against the guy. I never understood it, he seemed like a nice enough guy. I wouldn't qualify myself as a supporter, but I certainly don't bear the guy any ill will. Even liberal celebrities like Ben Affleck and Craig Ferguson pointed out that Bush was actually a very affable fellow.

The left tried to spin this saying that people only voted for him because they wanted to have a beer with him. Since when is likability a bad thing? Clinton was likable and they called that charisma, Bush is likable and that's beer swilling. Obama's likable too for the record, so I don't really see the complaint. I may not agree with everything Obama's doing, but I'd have a beer or go bowling with him. Anyone who reads Spider-Man and calls Kanye West a jackass is OK in my book.

Why would you vote for someone you didn't like? That seems counter-productive to me. It would be like Al Franken voting for Bill O'Reilly or me voting for Keith Olbermann, it's just not going to happen.

Now with all of that being said, I will grant you that voting for someone simply because they're likable is not a good thing. If the person seems like a nice guy, but you don't agree with his policies, don't vote for him.

Charisma has always played a large part in politics. Kennedy had it, Reagan had it, one of the reasons why I didn't really see McCain winning this last election was because he didn't have the same sort of energy that Obama did. Palin picked up the slack on that front a little, but only opened up another can of worms.

Liking a presidential candidate is one factor among many that you should take into account when deciding who to vote for. The person's views on various issues, of course, is a key factor as is how competent you think the person is to run the country.

Conversely, just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you need to demonize them. This is true on both sides. Politicians need to be more internet savvy as they seem to have a problem with constantly invoking Godwin's Law. It could be worse, they could try to cite rule 34....ugh.

Long story short, liking a political candidate is not a bad thing. It shouldn't be the only thing, but pointing out that a candidate is affable and friendly does not reflect negatively on you or on society in general.