# The coolest cat always wins the presidential race theory **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 17, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005 "2012-09-17T21:00:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/1 "2012-09-17T21:00:37Z")
In the modern era. . . say since TV became a big deal. . . the coolest cat has always won the presidential race: Kennedy\* - Nixon: No one’s cooler than JFK, come on! Johnson\* - Goldwater: Johnson seemed to have a pretty cool swagger. Nixon\* - Humphrey: Nixon’s like Darth Vader cool. . . before Cheney. Nixon\* - McGovern: Nixon’s Judge Dredd badass compared to McGovern. Carter\* - Ford: Ford got labeled a bubbler, bubbler’s are not cool. Readan\* - Carter: Hollywood scores over peanut farmer from Georgia. Reagan\* - Mondale: No comment necessary. Bush\* - Dukakis: Dukakis is short and looks funny in tank with helmet. Game over. Clinton\* - Bush: No one’s cooler than Clinton. Clinton\* - Dole: Ditto Bush\* - Gore: No one’s more square than Al Gore. Bush\* - Kerry: No one’s more squre than John Kerry. Obama\* - McCain: Obama’s rock star cool. Obama - Romney: Obama out cools Romney. There’s no way Obama loses his cool swagger no matter what facts you want to throw around. Obama victory. This is non-scientific but looking back doesn’t it seem obvious. And call it charisma or charm, or whatever you want, but, the coolest cat always wins. \*cooler ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/2 "2012-09-17T21:04:03Z")
I agree with all but Nixon. I’ve never seen video of Humphrey or McGovern, but it’s hard to imagine someone less cool than Nixon, although I concede it’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/3 "2012-09-17T21:06:29Z")
Sorry, no. For one thing I think you’re making retroactive judgments on the personae of these candidates without regard to how they might’ve looked at the time. And I don’t think anyone thought Nixon was cool. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/4 "2012-09-17T21:10:29Z")
Humphrey and McGovern didn’t have the aura of evil that surrounded Nixon. But it’s always been something like that. Although a good speaker, Stevenson looked pale and meek next to Eisenhower (anybody would have at that time). FDR had fostered an image that didn’t include his inablity to walk, the cigarette holder, a turned up hat, posed photos to make him look like a man heading into the wind, and the manufactured story that he had beaten polio. Some say Harding won because he was considered handsome by the newly suffering\* women voters. \*Yes I know that’s not the word. ETA: Marley’s right that Nixon didn’t look cool. McGovern was considered cool, or at least it was considered cool to be for McGovern, but I don’t think ‘cool’ is the exact way to describe this image advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/5 "2012-09-17T21:21:51Z")
It doesn’t explain the election of 1912 – Roosevelt was much cooler than Wilson or Taft – but that election is an oddity because of the split in the GOP vote. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/6 "2012-09-17T22:53:11Z")
Bubblers are, in fact, cool. Most of my month of December is spent staring at those amazing little things. Bumblers are truly not cool. But when portrayed by Chevy Chase, then can be pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![jpl1019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jpl1019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jpl1019)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/7 "2012-09-18T00:20:23Z")
Winners are cool, losers aren’t. These men didn’t become President because they were cool, they became cool because they won the Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/8 "2012-09-18T01:25:18Z")
> [@jpl1019](#): > > Winners are cool, losers aren’t. These men didn’t become President because they were cool, they became cool because they won the Presidency. Right. Had Clinton lost, he’d just be another hick from Arkansas. Had Obama lost, he’d just be a jug-eared geek with a funny name. This is all just a more subjective version of the Presidential height theory, anyway (“The tall guy always wins”). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/9 "2012-09-18T14:59:01Z")
Yeah, it’s pretty damn subjective. And I don’t recall GWB ever being the least bit cool. IMHO, even Al Gore outcooled him. If pollsters had been asking about the coolness of the candidates shortly after the nominees were settled, then you’d have a track record of _which candidate was thought at the time to be cooler_, which could be used as a basis for predictions. But all we have is our individual retrospective impressions. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/10 "2012-09-18T15:10:53Z")
I have to disagree with the Nixon theory. The 1968 Democratic Party was in disarray, the favorite had been murdered and a lot of people thought McCarthy should have gotten the nomination over HHH, and the chaotic Chicago convention was nearly as bad as the 2012 Tampa edition. The Humphrey loss was not because everyone thought Nixon was cool. I truly hope some Romney adviser starts messing with him, saying things like “You know, Mitt, to appeal to the youth voter you need to start saying words like ‘groovy’ in your speeches”. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/11 "2012-09-18T15:28:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I truly hope some Romney adviser starts messing with him, saying things like “You know, Mitt, to appeal to the youth voter you need to start saying words like ‘groovy’ in your speeches”. They’d have to take the current version of the Romneybot and return it for regrooving. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/12 "2012-09-18T15:49:19Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, it’s pretty damn subjective. And I don’t recall GWB ever being the least bit cool. IMHO, even Al Gore outcooled him. I have to disagree with this one, at least with the 2000 election. I specifically remember the idea going around that Bush was “the type of guy I’d like to share a beer with”. I even heard a lot of people who opposed him admit they’d prefer to share a beer with him, but that didn’t make him a good presidential candidate. And even before Gore was running for president, he was perceived by many as rather robotic. It wasn’t really until afterward when he started his environmental work about which he was particularly passionate that he started to lose some of that. The OP’s suggestion isn’t that the winner was cool, I never would have considered GWB cool, but in 2000, before the wars and before 8 years worth of gaffs, compared to Gore he was the cooler candidate. That said, I do think that this idea is very subjective and hindsight. A winner, simply by virtue of winning gains coolness points, and a loser loses some. So it’s really hard to make these judgments after the fact. Like, sure, Obama looks cooler than McCain, but if McCain had won I could easily see the justification about how him being a maverick was cool and Obama was just over his head or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/13 "2012-09-18T16:24:40Z")
> [@jpl1019](#): > > Winners are cool, losers aren’t. These men didn’t become President because they were cool, they became cool because they won the Presidency. Yeah, it’s probaly just that “hindsight is 20/20” thing. And with Nixon, yeah maybe not cool, but when I was little he always seemed like a “tough-guy” and that was pretty cool back then, he wasn’t a “nice-guy.” ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/14 "2012-09-18T16:31:55Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, it’s pretty damn subjective. And I don’t recall GWB ever being the least bit cool. You don’t recall him dodging that shoe? That was pretty cool. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duLds-TZMGw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duLds-TZMGw) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/15 "2012-09-18T17:46:17Z")
Characterizing RICHARD NIXON as cool is historical revisionism of the most astounding nature. There was absolutely nothing cool about him. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/16 "2012-09-18T18:15:09Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Characterizing RICHARD NIXON as cool is historical revisionism of the most astounding nature. There was absolutely nothing cool about him. I agree that he stretches the believability of the “cool guy” theory. But, he was elected President twice. That’s pretty cool. And “cool” is a very ambiguous term. I think looking back and saying there was nothing likeable/charismatic/respectable/whatever about him is revisionistic. You have to have some coolness to get the nomination and be elected twice. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/17 "2012-09-18T18:17:50Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I truly hope some Romney adviser starts messing with him, saying things like “You know, Mitt, to appeal to the youth voter you need to start saying words like ‘groovy’ in your speeches”. I’ll have you know it is possible to work “groovy” into a perfectly respectable and compelling sentence, and to do so with the effect of endearing yourself to the listener. The trick is to say it as though you believe the subject so-referenced truly is groovy. So often, however, it is tortured into a position where “slick” or “most acceptable” or “Flippin’ Awesome” would be better suited, and then it just sounds like you’re trying to relate to someone you’re hopelessly out of touch with. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/18 "2012-09-18T18:18:37Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > I agree that he stretches the believability of the “cool guy” theory. But, he was elected President twice. That’s pretty cool. And “cool” is a very ambiguous term. I think looking back and saying there was nothing likeable/charismatic/respectable/whatever about him is revisionistic. You have to have some coolness to get the nomination and be elected twice. Yeah, but that’s _ex post facto_ coolness. Nobody who wears patent leather shoes on the beach, or hangs around with Bebe Rebozo and Robert Abplanalp, is cool by any definition. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/19 "2012-09-18T19:13:28Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Characterizing RICHARD NIXON as cool is historical revisionism of the most astounding nature. There was absolutely nothing cool about him. He was running against a guy named “Hubert” the first time, and the second time he ran against a guy whose first VP choice had undergone electroshock. Hard to say Dick was cool, but in comparison… The late 1960s are often considered a “cool” period in our nation’s history, but the 1968 election does not reflect this. If Bobby K had lived and beaten Humphrey in the 1968 Convention, then you would have seen cool. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005/20 "2012-09-18T19:22:32Z")
Nixon was _cool with_ the conservatives. They weren’t quite sure what he was, too governmenty for them. So he was as uncool as they get personally, but \*cool with \*the right people at the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-cat-always-wins-the-presidential-race-theory/635005.md?page=2)