9/10ths of the real charisma in this election belongs to Huckabee. His policies are ass-backwards, but he seems like a great guy. Clinton is like a robotic mom addressing a kindergarten class. Obama's charisma, as near as I can tell, is like that of Ron Paul, who actually has almost none. Rather, his supporters all support him because they have decided to see in him what they want to see. I find him hard to listen to--he forces him voice unnaturally low, and seems to stress the wrong words for emphasis.
McCain has no charisma, but he's the only candidate that could really induce fear rather than love.
Sigh. Here's where I explicate my own words. "who actually has almost none" references Ron Paul. Obama's charisma is similar to RP's in that much of it comes from the fact that his supporters are looking at him sideways. One instance from xkcd:
I want, for once, someone I can vote for not because I dislike the other candidate, but because I’m proud of mine. Obama is the real thing.
Obama has shown a real commitment to open government.
Now, the above expresses an actual liking, not just an agreement policy-wise. I really like Ron Paul's platform, by contrast, but frankly find him annoying. It's important to spot the difference there. Now, Munroe, who is by all accounts a smart person, is supporting Obama because of something called "open government", which Obama has "real commitment" to. I don't see this commitment in the platform, which doesn't contain any references to it:
What I see in the platform is standard leftism. But even that is not where Obama's "real commitment" is--his real commitment is "civil rights", if that is understood properly.
Fine. It doesn't matter. The point is this: To really like a guy for something that is a completely negligble part of his platform is quite dangerous. I'm sure a lot of his supporters are actually supporting him for an even worse reason: Because it is the "moral" thing to do, in and of itself.
Obama comes across as awkward and geeky, but have you not seen the 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address? It was one of the best political speeches in the last 20 years.
As a student of Toastmasters, when I saw that speech live on TV, I knew he'd be a presidential candidate. But in 2008? Never would have guessed so soon. Great speakers connect with the audience. Good speakers merely tell.
After the final surge to get my CTM and moving office locations, I dropped out. I still do get a public speaking fix through some storytelling gigs. I'd rather not say which specific club (I like to think I am a wallflower) but that Toastmaster club is/was a fantastic supportive environment to practice public speaking. For the only way to learn public speaking is to actually do it. The value of the feedback (handwritten comments that you get after a speech) was tremendous - where else can you get honest supportive feedback - people want you to succeed. The fact that it was a corporate club that was not my company was a plus - felt safe to talk about whatever - no coworkers (except the one guy I carpooled with).
This election is fundamentally different from others.
Clinton, by virtue of having breasts, makes women feel good about themselves. That's an X-factor which was not present in any past election. And she plays this up, by crying and planting fake sexists at her campaign events (http://michellemalkin.com/2008/01/07/bs-alert-hillarys-iron-...).
As for Obama, you are right. His supporters are projecting. But they project onto him (rather than Hillary) because he is incredibly charismatic.
McCain has no charisma, but he's the only candidate that could really induce fear rather than love.