Do you like Hillary Clinton?
Not, is she qualified, but do you like her?
If this were grade school and you were slipped one of those fancy folded-in-a-triangle notes that read βDo you like Hillary Clinton? Check yes or noβ β would you check yes?
I would. I like her. I like her smarts. I like her compassion and her drive to make change and help people without power. I have confidence in her abilities. Heck, Iβd even like to get a beer with her.
But based on conversations Iβve had recently with many varieties of humans β women, men, younger, older, different ethnicities and faiths β her quote-unquote likability isnβt so high.
βI know sheβs qualified, but I just donβt like her.β No real specific reason, maybe a general reference to email or trust, but there seems to be a lack of connection with her as a person.
This isnβt a news flash. Sheβs been called inauthentic, cold, robotic. Sheβs clearly a highly intelligent person, but her warmth, for some viewers, doesnβt come through.
Qualifications, experience, executive presence β these she has, no question. A person who evaluates and considers before speaking can come across as calculating, but itβs also a trait of someone who is thoughtful and knows that what she says matters.
For an example of the opposite, look no further than Donald Trump. He spouts off about whatever comes into his head, and then claims he never said it, or pretends, like with him inviting Russia to cyber-attack the U.S., that he was joking.
A real candidate worthy of a partyβs nomination for president wouldnβt consider saying such a thing. But weβre talking about Donald Trump.
So, to badly paraphrase Tina Turner, whatβs like got to do with it? When it comes down to leading the country, to representing the U.S. in the world, does it matter if I want to hang out with the president?
In this era of social media, the power of βlikeβ is potent. We βlikeβ something on Facebook and feel like weβve done something. A digital nod of the head is confused with action.
We weigh in on many, many things each day on Facebook alone, a gut check yes or no based on a post. Yes, I like guinea pigs. No, I donβt like beet recipes.
Our individual assessment is a commodity. We count βlikesβ and judge worth based on their number. So it makes sense that our gut-check measurement affects how we evaluate a candidate β more important than policy proposals, views on issues or experience.
Hillary Clinton has positive, progressive ideas. She has facts. Bernie Sandersβ accomplishment is to have pushed her to the left, and that is for the good.
I like her mastery of policy, her attention to details, her tenacity, her focus on others. She is sure of herself, and I never get the sense that she needs a fawning crowd to survive.
On the flip side, Donald Trump seems to possess an insatiable need to be liked. Attention is his oxygen. If heβs not in the headlines, he will say or do whatever it takes to attract the spotlight. In my experience, such a craving to be praised and endless proclamations of personal greatness are a cover for extreme insecurity. The bigger the self-congratulatory bark, the more fragile the ego.
Hillary Clinton doesnβt do that. She doesnβt need to. Sheβs got the substance, the experience, the smarts to lead the country β exactly what I like in a candidate for president.
