What is "electability"?

[maha]

Electability is a word on every Democratic lip these days, although no one can say exactly what it is. ...

No doubt all manner of instruments exist to measure electability, factoring in height, weight, comb of hair, and color of tie. But I say it all boils down to the Masculine Mystique. Put another way, “It’s the cojones, stupid.”

Just consider most of the past several presidential elections in terms of a John Wayne factor. War hero Dwight Eisenhower beat out egghead Adlai Stevenson, twice. In the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the televised image of the handsome, confident, robust JFK won over sweaty, shifty-eyed Tricky Dick, although those listening to the debates on radio thought Nixon did the better job. Later, Commie-fighter, tough-on-crime Nixon beat the progressive Hubert Humphrey and the pacifist George McGovern. In spite of his age, tall-in-the-saddle Ronald Reagan was the personification of testosterone itself next to opponents Jimmy Carter and Fritz Mondale. Poppy Bush beat out Michael Dukakis on manliness, particularly after the unfortunate tank video, but the rakish Bill Clinton clearly out-manned Poppy.

And in the 50-50 election of 2000, Al Gore got points for kissing his wife but lost points by being prissy in the debates. Bush's only asset was his faux cowboy act, but that kept the election close enough to steal.

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[displacedtexan]

1. Q

"Q" is the term used to evaluate TV/film appeal. Like it or not, a candidate's Q lets you know how Joe Sixpack picks a candidate. Clinton was enough of a hound dog to appeal to the Nascar dads, and he was smart enough to appeal to the so-called East Coast Elite.

Visualize next year's TV debate with the following Q factors in mind: height; posture; confidence; wardrobe (the drape of the fabric, subtle tailoring to enhance figure, colors chosen to flatter the skin tones); ability to come across as 'just like you.'

Bush v Dean
Bush v Clark
Bush v Kerry
Bush v ... the rest of the Dem candidates

Electability is measurable. You recognize it instinctively when you see or hear it: how do you react to local commercials featuring the children of car dealers? But that Del guy ("Dude! You're gettin' a Del!") had Q's off the chart.

[maha]

3. Right; and "Q" works because

... subconsciously, it plays into the masculine mystique. All the candidates can hire the same consultants to tell them what tie to wear and how to stand and use their hands. I'm saying that ultimately it's the "M" factor that makes or breaks a candidate. The only presidential contests in my memory (which goes back to Eisenhower-Stevenson) in which "M" was not a factor was Johnson-Goldwater and Carter-Ford. In those contests, no candidate had a clear advantage in the "M" factor department.

[Skittles]

2. it means

that when you mumble incessantly and look like an unmade bed YOU DON'T RUN FOR PRESIDENT.

[Terwilliger]

4. is Steven Wright running for president?