Posted on 11/07/2014 7:23:52 AM PST by thetallguy24
When it became clear that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had won reelection handily Tuesday night, I was all set to write an article hyping up his prospects to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. It seemed to make total sense — he's been elected three times in a blue state, while fighting hard for conservative priorities in a way that's impressed both the GOP's base and its elites.
But then I sat down and watched his victory speech from Tuesday night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wxEfnPakLYM
The very beginning is nice, as Walker thanks God for his win and gets some applause. But it's all downhill from there. His delivery is stilted. His facial expressions are alternately blank and smug. He chooses strange words to emphasize ("that's just not the American dree-eeam," he says twice). Overall, he looks and sounds like a whole lot like a Milwaukee County Executive — and not at all like a potential president. I've seen Walker speak before and knew he wasn't the most charismatic guy around, but watching this speech during a truly great week for him really drove this weakness home to me.
None of this has any bearing on Walker's accomplishments or qualifications. In an ideal world, this stuff wouldn't matter at all. But in a world where primary candidates rise and fall in the polls based partly on their performance in televised debates, it could seriously hurt Walker's chances.
As many political commentators have pointed out, Walker faces a "Pawlenty problem." That's in reference to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who seemed on paper to be a perfectly good 2012 nominee for Republicans.
The author comes across as a ‘concern troll’.
We need someone who is soft spoken but driven by their convictions. I was telling my wife on election night that we need a long string of single-term presidents. That usually indicates they did something controversial. We need positive controversy like Medicare reform.
Is there anyone this ‘Vox’ website doesn’t hate?
Walker is the best thing going right now.
Well it’s Vox, so........
Cruz/Walker 2016
Vox is Ezra Klein’s website. Concern troll city.
Yup.
We will have to watch for many more of these in the next 2 years as Libs and RINOs will start seeding this crap all over, while issuing glowing praise of JeBush and Chris Crisspy.
I’d say Carson fits your bill for soft spoken and driven by convictions.
BTW, clickable link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wxEfnPakLYM
When will we ever learn to quit voting for pretty faces and cute personalities?
Walker is 50X the governor Pawlenty was, but this is the area I am looking at, too. National politics is a different game, and TV image determines the winner. I’d like to see him run and see if he can do it.
I think the problem isn’t mid-westerners so much as that good executive governance goes not go hand in hand with TV charisma. When the two intersect, that’s where we have a good candidate. Other examples - Jindal, possibly Kasich, Rick Scott, and others. I also want to see if Mike Pence is interested. He’s got the mid-western style but is a really effective communicator, too. Not sure if the timing is right for him as he is just in his first term. He may gamble that he is in a good position in 2020 if we lose this round.
This is why we have ... primaries. To get failings like this out into the open, but also allow candidates to learn and improve.
That being said, no he's not "charismatic", and I agree that he needs work on formal speechifying. He grabs on to phrases such as "hard working taxpayer" and doesn't let go.
What he excels at, however, is connecting directly with the voters. In his ads he looks them straight in the eye and speaks openly. It's a straightforward "this is who I am and what I'm about - like it or leave it". And then he backs up those words with action.
I hope people are ready to choose that approach over empty soaring oratory that sounds pretty but accomplishes nothing.
Using superficial qualities to discount a superior leader is an old liberal technique.
Scott Walker has beat down the unions, the MSM and the democrat machine to win big three times in six years. And he did it with style. Why? Because he gets results. He employed conservatism to turn Wisconsin’s finances around.
He would have an easier time running in a national election.
The author doesn’t discuss the characteristics of a potential political rival for POTUS: Hillary Clinton. Old, unattractive, shrill and gaffe-prone, Clinton would have a tough time defeating Walker.
/s
Remember that DEMOCRATIC guy they elected twice for POTUS recently...he came off speaking REALLY well...until after his second election...we all found out that speech was not his strong suit...
I don’t care how someone sounds - it’s their policies and actions I’m more concerned with + character...if I want good drama and entertainment - I’ll go watch a movie...don’t need that in a President...
Concern Trolls get both middle fingers.
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