Giuliani: No John F. Kerry

During the 2003-2004 election season, John Kerry became renowned for his speaking style. And not in a good way.

Countless articles and blog posts pointed out that he sounded like he was attempting to impress his prep school Latin teacher with recitations of Cicero, and that this was not the optimal method to reach the hearts and minds of the American people.

The total effect of these criticisms on Kerry's behavior: nil.

On Friday, a few papers carried an AP story on Giuliani's style of campaigning in diners. The telling section:

Wandering through crowded diners and moving quickly from one table to the next, Giuliani scribbles autographs onto campaign literature and baseballs. He pauses for a moment - seldom needing to introduce himself - and then scurries to the next table.

It also lets him avoid tough questions in favor of bagels. And salsa. And omelets. And fried clams. And diet soda.

On a recent trip to Council Bluffs, Iowa, he arrived at the Village Inn restaurant as TV cameras rolled and cameras clicked. He swiftly moved from one table to the next, rarely looking people in the eye. He didn't introduce himself. He didn't ask for votes. He didn't talk policies.

The most he uttered were impersonal phrases like "Nice to see you" and "How you doing?" and "Nice to be here" and "Take care." He also remarked on the food: "That looks really good," he said to a woman with a plate of eggs. "I already ate breakfast."

On Sunday, Giuliani did another diner visit. He didn't sit down and have protracted policy discussions on the Peruvian free trade deal for New Hampshire with every customer. But he did sit down at booth after booth, making quick and impersonal yet comfortable small talk, frequently about the Patriots or the Red Sox or the Twelve Commitments campaign pieces he scribbled signatures on at each booth.

There was certainly no Bill Clintonesque attempt to absorb the life experiences of everyone he met, but neither was there there the ponderous labour of John Kerry attempting to find commonalities with the common people. Indeed, there was no genuine attempt to make any real human connection. (Rudy doesn't need to look for commonalities; his own exuberance and self-confidence is enough for the encounter to be complete. His diner seatmates' role is not to emote or tell their stories; it is to be impressed with and grateful for the beaming and dynamic presence of Rudy.) There was, however, a clear will and willingness to improve the candidate's optics by going through enhanced motions of shooting the breeze with voters over breakfast.

So on Friday an article appears exposing a weakness in Giuliani's public image. And by Sunday he has made a decision to fix it and begun to act upon it. Would-be POTUSes, and non-POTUS Kerry, take note.

[Warning: armchair psychoanalysis ahead.]
[Rudy's ego is large enough that he doesn't worry about changing his behavior in a way that'll benefit his campaign; it's like a pitcher making an adjustment to his pitching motion. Kerry's ego was so fragile that altering himself in any way to allow people to recognize him as human felt to him like a betrayal of that self; it'd be unnatural and dishonorable, like professing a false religion, or rooting for the Yankees.]