Well
Michelle Obama has taken off her jacket and done some push-ups. As they say,
“you go girl!” and yes I’m attempting to be hip and offer a sense of parody
with my street talk? And yes, I accept it didn’t work, did it? Especially when
you factor in I am white and cannot dance, but keep my attempt to connect with
you in mind for now!
Apparently the above mentioned incident all happened on the American talk show Ellen and was part of promoting the first ladies health agenda. Certainly the U.S. along with other westernised countries has a rising obesity problem, which is not only bad for the people but adds a certain financial burden to the health sector budget.
This
could all be viewed as just point scoring for her husband, but leaving our
political allegiances and cynical observations to one side, what an interesting
piece of television? I have been racking my brain to try to remember such an
overtly engaging T.V. moment by a leader’s wife? Some may argue that this
breaks some etiquette rule on how people associated with government should
conduct themselves, but for me I find it humanising and a pleasant change from
the usual performance we are given by such people.
Far
too often we in the general public domain are left to be felt distant from our
leaders, so statesmen and women in general could take a lesson from Mrs Obama
and show us a bit more of this getting down on your knees stuff, rather than
the usual kissing babies and virtuous platitudes to appease the masses.
Maybe
we should ask all potential leaders and their spouses to undertake the push-up
test. Similar to the army, if you can’t make the number you don’t make the
cut!! Should make the elections a bit more fun!! It’s not the fitness element
that is important but the quirkiness and everyday factor that counts,
politicians need to come across as human and present an image that is
believable.
For
those seeking public office having that ‘common peoples’ touch as it is
referred to is a real advantage. What these actions do is provide a spark of
being connected, in tune with the populous, that’s all it takes to get the
public’s attention. Obviously once that has happened they need to keep up the
dialogue, but a start is a start. So wannabes maybe you could learn something
here and show a bit more of sending yourself up and try to connect with the
people, beats the usual cheesy photo opportunities and scripted
speeches.
Yes,
I know, “it was all orchestrated, staged and probably she had a personal
trainer for six months”……so why has this caught my attention. Am I being a
gullible fool here? For some reason this resonates with me. Is it really that
surprising looking at the narrow choice of political candidates that we have
low turn outs at the ballot box and the public are generally apathetic towards
the whole election process in many western countries? Is there some factory
where future politicians are produced? I don’t know about you but I want people
standing for public office to be real, to be believable and say things like,
“hey guys I have fucked up a few times in my life but I keep learning a lot and
more importantly I now listen and seek out other smart people to advise me, so
I promise to do my best and admit when I get it wrong”…….Jeez, I like the sound
of this person……...where do I vote???
Why
did Arnie get to be Governer of California? Yep, money and the Kennedy connection
no doubt helped, but actually I think it was that he was different and not
confined by the protocols of a professional politician or should I say produced
from the bullshit factory of stiff statesmen and pretenders? How many times
have we watched a potential candidate have to withdraw from an election because
it was leaked (usually by their opponents) that they smoked pot when they were
sixteen......so what? Did I care that Clinton had a blow job......no!! I want
smart people in charge, who can think out of the box and have lived a
little........give the people something real!!
Watching
the current plethora of stiff, religious and anal retentive republican wannabes
it’s not really an inspiring choice is it? So, let the oddballs, entrepreneurs,
business leaders and people with no egos start applying for the top government
positions. I don’t know about you but I want a certain spark, gravitas or
charisma from my leaders, someone that’s human, someone that can connect to the
people, who’s smart, but smarter enough to realise that pretending to be
something they are not is just fraudulent, and the people can spot a fraud
instantly. You can keep the pious, religious, goody-two-shoe image conscious
prats and the ‘you can trust me retards’ and give me something authentic,
something real, someone that is believable and we are prepared to
follow……..yeah that’s what I want……..what about you???
Apparently
my grandfather gave my dad only one piece of advice, an oldie for sure but
still relevant, “beware the P’s…………….preachers and politicians, they are both
untrustworthy!”
So
if you want be a leader, prove you are the genuine article, flawed but human,
let’s see the sweat on your brow…..show me you are real. In times of crisis we
need real people with depth, resolve and that are convincing. People that can
look in the mirror and know they are not a fraud! So take the mirror test you
wannabes!
Peace
& Love!
The
Doubter
2 comments:
As they say, “you go girl!”
To be honest I don't think skin colour and lack of dancing ability matter very much - it's a phrase that nobody should be using, because it's deeply annoying :)
Humanising politicians is such a horrible affair because it's often done under instructions from their advisors who, it seems, have forgotten how to be human. They're always try to please as many people as possible so they leave nothing to chance; every word, gesture, facial expression, or microscopic sign of personality is rehearsed to the point of meaninglessness before hand and you always end up with a mannequin, shop-window dummy version of a human being.
I reckon the solution for future politicians is to keep the spin doctors and media consultants away from them at all costs - these are people who specialise in media manipulation and perception management. We need our elected idiots unvarnished and naked (personality-wise) before us. MPs in general, and PMs in particular, have been getting slicker and slicker over the decades, with the real nexus point being Blair. That guy was stage-managed to within an inch of his life, and it shows.
As for future politicians, I do, however, like the idea of some kind of physical endurance test - specifically I think it'd be way funnier to have party leadership contests determined by a fist fight :)
Thanks for the comment.
You are right, it's the media advisors and spin doctors who create these false personalities, and people are sick and tired of chinless politicians spouting platitudes......watching PM question time is like watching children squabble in the playgorund!!
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