Where have all the talented politicians gone?

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Narrator
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14 Jan 2015, 7:22 am

Where have all the talented politicians gone?

Up until maybe 15 years ago politicians were intelligent, entertaining, excellent debaters, and seemed to have more clout. Am I just being nostalgic, or have our pollies become impotent and uninteresting.

I'm Australian, so I remember Hawke and Keating, Menzies and Fraser, but I also remember Nixon, Reagan and Clinton, and also Wilson, Thatcher and Blair, Kohl and Schröder, Chirac and de Gaulle, to name just a few.


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The_Walrus
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14 Jan 2015, 9:10 am

I think we can be guilty of looking back on these things with rose-tinted glasses (even if we don't always like the politicians we talk up). Is Obama really lacking in clout relative to Clinton? Cameron to Blair? I'll give you Hollande, but Merkel is arguably the premier German Premier since reunification (aware that isn't saying much...)



aghogday
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14 Jan 2015, 11:17 am

This shows up the greatest in the last two elections where all the Republicans had to offer was a stiff cardboard McCain the first go around with Obama, and the robot Romney in the second go around with Obama.

And perhaps this spells doom for Republicans in the future, per at least, Presidential elections, as Republicans overall now have LESS CHARISMA THAN democrats.

Stiff patriarchal necks will never meet progressive personalities on an even playing field, at the highest levels, of heard of herd attention, where the young and impressionable folks are listening.

Humans are humans and humans are influenced by the charismatic charm of others, particularly through NONVERBAL LANGUAGE FIRST and then oratory skills.

We live in a world where machines are increasingly becoming human and humans are increasingly becoming machines.

So the Zombie Apocalypse in measures of 'soulless' human beings, per one example of scientific study, shows that college age students have lost around 30 percent of empirical measured empathy in the last few decades.

Environmental influences on humans being humans can make all the difference in the world, from little girls who look forward to having female genital mutilation in SOME countries for social esteem, to folks who sit still behind machines all day long at school, work and home, to be one with the machine, instead of organic material, like eyes, ears, flesh, hips and eyes.

And Japanese young folks in that highly 'evolved' technological society are even losing interest in REALLY HOOKING UP WITH members of the opposite sex.

The work of the BEAUTIFUL ONES BY way of John Calhoun and rats in a Utopia provided subsistence, where social roles no longer exist tell the TRUTH OF OUR COMMON ANCESTOR of around 75 million years ago, truly now in Japan ways of cleaning crews with the elderly remains of folks in apartments with no social contacts OF REAL FLESH AND BLOOD CONNECTIONS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Calhoun

The fall of the politician as charisma making non-verbal/oratory king/queen, is just another one of many microcosms of the fall of humans to the machine of non-organic flesh and blood connecting life.

And 'fictional' cultural memes from the Terminator series, in rise of THE machines, to Zombie movies and living DEATH of humans are forecasting it while it happens, as well.

The fall of Bowling Leagues is another excellent microcosm, OF THIS OVERALL MODERN CULTURAL IT, Information Technology, explosion phenomenon, as home entertainment goes from flesh and blood high fives in a strike of team spirit, to DANCING WITH THE STARS, AND A BACK SEAT ROW OF LIFE.

Truly fascinating it is, to have a flesh and blood living experience reference point of this.

Truly many young folks, and even up and somewhat coming politicians have no idea what it even means to be fully human, as folks lived before, out of Zombie Apocalypse land....

The old movies still say IT ALL TOO, WHERE NON-VERBAL HUMAN Language and verbal language IS poetry THEN instead of both robot look and talk, NOW, overall.

Now for the most part it's special effects as the unreal becomes real, per robots and zombies, in brick and mortar heaven....

Anyway.. truly I could write a novel on this.. in a hour or so now.. so i better stop with these words that could otherwise soon reach OUT OF THE BOX Novella status at 12,000 words...or MORE..;)

I stopped COUNTING.. some time ago.. to ensure my life goes on as alive.. at least..FOR NOW..:)

BUT ANYWAY, this IS MY FAVORITE video clip that expresses human life as is, for now, sadly as lived by some folks, at least...for now.....



The most ironic thing of all, is, MOST OF 'US', still, do, have the potential to TURN IT OFF, open the door, and escape.

JUST DOING IT, can be the hard part, according to my friends from Nike..;)


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Jacoby
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14 Jan 2015, 8:02 pm

Well in terms of just personality I think McCain is a fairly talented politician FWIW even tho I think he is Satan, he maintained an image. Dubya of course was a master politician. Going forward I think Rand Paul has shown quite a bit of talent, Hilary is obviously pretty dynamic candidate, guys like Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee are charismatic, Jeb Bush isn't his brother in being relatability but he obviously has the pedigree.

Comparing Republicans to Democrats I think the Republicans have a better slate of candidates without making a judgement on their beliefs. The Democrats to me seem like they have a lack of rising stars at the moment that you could describe as "talented". Elizabeth Warren to me is a poor politicians having followed her campaign, Scott Brown who was a very talented campaigner was almost able to sink her in deep blue Massachusetts. Without Hilary I think the Dems are in pretty big trouble, Biden while I guess could be considered charismatic in some ways isn't a strong candidate obviously and it really is slim pickings after that. Jerry Brown? Yikes.

It is what it is tho, someone always comes out of nowhere and people get anointed. I think substance in general in politics is on the decline, its more about appealing to the masses and lowest common denominator now than ideas. It's personality and whatever the country is scared about at the time now.



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14 Jan 2015, 8:32 pm

There are no politicians, only actors, swindlers, and power-hungry dictators.


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14 Jan 2015, 8:40 pm

I think this "state of affairs" is because politicians, these days, know that they must appeal to the "common man."

In the old days, politicians had to seem like they were "superior" to their constituency; otherwise, they would have little credibility.

This is not true these days.

I like Jimmy Carter--but the "dumbing down" of presidents date from around his time. I think Obama, actually, represents a reversing of the trend.



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22 Jan 2015, 6:54 am

Narrator wrote:
Where have all the talented politicians gone?

Up until maybe 15 years ago politicians were intelligent, entertaining, excellent debaters, and seemed to have more clout. Am I just being nostalgic, or have our pollies become impotent and uninteresting.

I'm Australian, so I remember Hawke and Keating, Menzies and Fraser, but I also remember Nixon, Reagan and Clinton, and also Wilson, Thatcher and Blair, Kohl and Schröder, Chirac and de Gaulle, to name just a few.


You start with a false premise.

We have more "talented" politicians than ever. Anyone who can keep getting re-elected by telling bald face lies and making statements that would get any normal person fired on the spot for incompetence is a very, very talented politician.

What we are missing are real LEADERS.



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22 Jan 2015, 7:21 pm

Republicans and most Democrats currently serving in Congress now don't care about what the American people want from them. All they care about is making sure gridlock happens at the US Capitol Building.


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23 Jan 2015, 1:51 am

The state of the union is strong, everything is better, and its time to tax companies more because they need to share. Despite peoples major concern being the economy and only 18% believing the government unemployment numbers, my policies will give everyone a better everything while also punishing rich people for not giving us their money. Middle class economics is a real term. I am totally believable in everything I say because I said it clearly and with inflection, signaling that any actual thought, study, or disagreement is just out of the realm of what is considered by me the most powerful tastemaker and bastion of truth. You are a bad person if you don't hop onto my optimism train to a future of rainbows complete with taxes and regulations further exhausting businesses so China being number one is set in stone.

Also, we're not going to export our oil production or go after our natural resources in america despite having most than the rest of world combined. That would bring jobs. I know you don't want jobs America. Hurting the environment may be last on your list but since I'm the president I'll just ignore that.