Does shallowness play a role?

MassiveDelta

If it wasn't already clear to me why America is in such sad shape, it would've been made clear to me by reading this thread.

I hate to break it to you sweetheart but this isn't an American thing its a human nature thing. This happens everywhere. Ask yourself why Putin is always doing crazy Manly photo shoots. Its to appear big and strong and manly and powerful. Its about image.

Slimithy

What's the addage? "Politics is show business for ugly people"...

And Carlin was the one who sad all wars were really caused by penis envy...

Pollywog39

I think we are all attracted to "good looking" people.............and maybe that would influence a vote, IF other factors were involved.

Me? I look at the platform. Always. What do they stand for? Do they agree with my ideals/morals/desires for my family, community, country. Are they intelligent, well-read, politically savvy?

I would love to see a woman run for President - one who is SMART enough and STRONG enough. Sarah Palin? Joke. Michelle Bachmann? bigger joke. I do think that Hillary COULD make a good Prez.........she certainly has the experience and the savvy.

There are a LOT of reasons as to why a person votes for a certain candidate - BUT, the thing that is REALLY sad is that NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE VOTE!

Tree72

Personally I think charisma and how one carries oneself is more important in such situations than just basic physical appearance. Like it or not, persuading others to support you and share your views (or at least make reasonable compromises) is part of politics and definitely something someone like the President or a Governor needs to use on a very regular if not daily basis.

lloydrt

your physical appearance is important in the workplace........dont believe me, read this..........they fired him for being obese........

so, your physical appearance plays an important role in your profession, whether its politics or corporate..............Lloyd

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/government-sues-bae-systems-firing-600-lb-employee/story?id=14623887

Begood03

All I care about is their views on the important issues!

CaptainGordo

your physical appearance is important in the workplace........dont believe me, read this..........they fired him for being obese........

so, your physical appearance plays an important role in your profession, whether its politics or corporate..............Lloyd

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/government-sues-bae-systems-firing-600-lb-employee/story?id=14623887

The case you point to was an issue of the guy's weight preventing him from doing the job in a safe and efficient manner. I'm not going to hire a 90 pound weakling to do a job that requires heavy lifting, if he can't do it, and the law cannot force me to do so. If a guy is so overweight that it somehow prevent him from doing his job, then so be it.

Yes, physical ability to perform your assigned task aside, physical appearance plays a role in the workplace -- but only because of people's prejudices.

In the case of an elected official, how would weight prevent him/her from doing his/her job? Again, it's people's prejudices that come into play -- and it's just as wrong as judging a candidate based on their gender or skin color. Unfortunately, it happens a whole lot.

LorinaLynn

frankly the people who "look Perfect" scare me away.

I don't need a slick politician. I need someone real, who is in line with MY values

This.

The ones with the hairstyle that look like they came from the Playdoh Fuzzy Pumper Barber shop give me the heebie jeebies!

jgic2009

There are some hot candidates that I would never, ever vote for--but I am pretty interested in politics and have very strong views. For people who don't have strong beliefs, or maybe don't have all the facts, then I am quite sure looks factor in to how they vote.

california_peach

I am a Libertarian, so looks don't matter to me in a candidate. Libertarians are too practical for that. We just are. We see the bottom line. Heck, I am not planning on sleeping with any of the candiates, excpet Gary Johnson....I would totally hit that Libertarian hottie....He put a fire out with his feet people, his FEET.

myofibril

Yes it does due to something called the Halo Effect.

Whilst people maintain on a conscious level that attractiveness of candidates has no bearing on their decision various studies have shown it does influence their choices:

"The halo effect is the manifestation of the affect heuristic in social psychology. Robert Cialdini, in Influence: Science and Practice, summarizes:

Research has shown that we automatically assign to good-looking individuals such favorable traits as talent, kindness, honesty, and intelligence (for a review of this evidence, see Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). Furthermore, we make these judgments without being aware that physical attractiveness plays a role in the process. Some consequences of this unconscious assumption that "good-looking equals good" scare me. For example, a study of the 1974 Canadian federal elections found that attractive candidates received more than two and a half times as many votes as unattractive candidates (Efran & Patterson, 1976). Despite such evidence of favoritism toward handsome politicians, follow-up research demonstrated that voters did not realize their bias. In fact, 73 percent of Canadian voters surveyed denied in the strongest possible terms that their votes had been influenced by physical appearance; only 14 percent even allowed for the possibility of such influence (Efran & Patterson, 1976). Voters can deny the impact of attractiveness on electability all they want, but evidence has continued to confirm its troubling presence (Budesheim & DePaola, 1994)."

If you want to get ahead good looks and attractiveness are useful tools. Invest in yourself and others will want to do so as well.

FitJoani

While I think Barack Obama is, by FAR, the most handsome president we've ever had, I would have voted for him regardless. I voted for John Kerry in the first election I could vote in and that guy's funny lookin'. XD

I agree with her.

fiberartist219

I would be reluctant to vote for a person who looked disheveled, but otherwise, it wouldn't matter to me. Just keep it clean, and iron your shirt for TV appearances, and we're good to go.