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Originally Posted by Mr Mephisto
OK, maybe he's not that charismatic. But he's got more [INSERT HARD TO DEFINE ATTRIBUTE HERE] than Kerry.
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I don't think it is charisma - I think it is the ability to talk in short sentences, and in the case of Bush, to talk in short sentences and say nothing. It is the ability to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Essentially, since we are generalizing Americans, it comes down to American's limited attention spans, non-desire to think and need for comfort. It's quick and easy and soothing to say "We're going to invade Iraq and we're going to win and we're going to liberate people." It doesn't mean anything, but it is exactly what people want to hear. On the contrary, to say something like "We need to ensure that Saddam is pressured to allow inspectors to do their job and we need to ensure that the U.N. is able to assess the full level of Iraq's WMD capabilities." requires the audience to think about the situation and to recognize that there are consequences to actions and there are no guarantees of success.
However, I do not believe Bush is going to win.