She's a "normal" politician in the sense that it appears...
by Kbyrnes (2023-12-29 11:23:18)

In reply to: For those hoping that Nikki Haley is the Great GOP Hope  posted by sprack

Cannot Reply Return to Political

...she'd play by, and encourage others to play by, the rules, i.e, the Constitution. The other ways in which she's "normal" is that she exudes mediocrity, like 99% of politicians: in her style of speech, her exhibited depth of intellect, her display of firmly held principles, and in her ability to communicate a plan of action for the most pressing problems we face. A kind of B-minus student. I'd also note that she is a self-proclaimed tea-partier, so I don't know how moderate she really is.

If she were POTUS, I would expect the country to move along just as it did under all our other postwar, pre-Trump presidents--leaders who weren't out to break what we have.

Most of the time politicians feed us pablum of their choosing, often based on careful attempts by consultants to craft some kind of a message. From time to time things slip out, extemporaneously, that give us a better glimpse into the person. From that perspective I'd disagree with IrishApache that this was an inconsequential occurrence. It could very well have consequences for the future conduct of her campaign.

I don’t think she’s “normal”
by acrossdmiddle  (2023-12-29 12:30:40)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Nor is she a B-minus student. I think she’s actually pretty sharp and knowledgeable about world affairs and the issues. She doesn’t hold a candle to geniuses like you (and I mean that sincerely), but if you were the standard for every person in any role in society, only a handful would qualify. Nikki made a mistake and I was disappointed both at the nature of the mistake and her unwillingness to own it and make a sincere correction. It wasn’t disqualifying for me, but I probably won’t have a chance to vote for her anyway.

I just meant normal in the dichotomy between...
by Kbyrnes  (2023-12-30 10:36:08)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

..."normal" and "abnormal." I didn't give her a C! (And thank you for the unwarranted compliment--I wouldn't pretend to be able to administer a state, a job that Haley has taken on.)

My assessment of her was rather glib, I'll admit, but I have viewed several of her speeches and looked at her website and can't find any white papers that logically and persuasively lay out her plans; instead, she has 3- to 10-line (or so) nuggets of text touting her achievements. One of these was to extend concealed carry rights into bars and restaurants, a cause that was just crying out for correction, I'm sure.

My assessment of these politicians goes back to my high school debate scoring sheet, where you were rated on topics such as:

--How well-organized your argument was
--How effectively you used logic and evidence to support your argument
--How well you demonstrated a grasp of the issues and evidence
--How well you rebutted the adverse argument (see the three points above)
--How well you delivered your argument (rhetorical aspects)

Her public presentation is not on a par with Reagan or Bill Clinton, for example; she's more on a par with HRC and Amy Klobuchar, each of whom I thought were not exactly brilliant speakers. Bolloxing up the answer to a public forum question about what caused the Civil War is kind of on a par with goofing up what HRC meant to say about coal mines. Being able to think on your feet and give cogent answers is impressive; floundering, not so much so (I give Joe Biden about a B- as well).

She may know a lot, and to the extent she's an international policy wonk that could offset her only passable public presentation style; but she has to show the world how smart she is.