Sarah Palin v Michelle Obama

I’m watching Sarah Palin at the RNC, and I’ve also seen Michelle Obama’s speech. While they don’t play the same role in politics, they are two similar women in their role as archetypes - the state-mommy. Where Sarah Palin dominates - she spanks Obama repeatedly, and then pauses to allow the RNC crowd to cheer. On the other hand, Michelle Obama never tears down ‘the opponent’, which might win the Obama camp some points in terms of “taking the high road”, if there is such a thing in politics.

From: The Book of Tells:

The way you stand when you’re talking to someone – how you move your feet, hands, eyes and eyebrows – says a lot about your underlying attitudes and your commitment to the conversation. How you position your arms and legs when you’re seated also provides a wealth of information about your mood and intentions, showing whether you feel dominant or submissive, preoccupied or bored, involved or detached. The way you smile – the facial muscles you use and how rapidly they’re activated – shows whether you’re genuinely happy, faking it, lying, feeling anxious, miserable, superior or unsure of yourself. The way you hesitate when you’re speaking, how you “um” and “er”, provides important clues to your mood. While the words you choose and the way you construct your utterances may convey an “official message” to other people, your linguistic choices also contain “disguised messages” which reveal your true intentions.

Michelle Obama’s speech left me with the impression that she was very eager for the audience to get to know barack as well as she knows him. Her eagerness may have come across as impatience and a hurried cadence to her speech. This might leave voters with the subliminal impression that her exuberance gets in the way of her ability to listen and have a genuine conversation with her audience. but who am I kidding? Her role, while important to the presidency, is not the same as Palin’s. If Michelle were running for VP, might she lash out the cougar claws and shred some political flesh?

Of note, Michelle did not attack the opposition as viciously as Palin has tonight. It was vicious, and there were a few good and bloody digs, but I have a sense that these types of tactics work when preaching to the choir, and do little to win voters at the margin.

I’ve recently read Words That Work, and The Book of Tells by Peter Collett. While the former is readily read in the US, the latter is not. I suggest both these books for those seeking a deeper understanding of this year’s election(s).