I remember reading about an incident in which a group of developmentally disabled adults were sitting in a room with a TV on which a politician was giving a speech. And the sound was turned off or down so low that nobody could hear the words. But for some reason, these viewers all started laughing. When someone asked them why they were laughing, one of them explained that the politician was very obviously lying. It seems that these individuals, who were rather out of the loop as far as the usual social immersion in the culture of soundbites, were nonetheless able to tune in acutely to the nuances of facial expression and body language.
This is a skill that anyone can develop to some degree. Try it. Watch a muted speech or dialogue by someone whose character you already are familiar with, and note carefully how facial expressions and body language reinforce their traits. Then do the same with someone you are not familiar with, and see if you can decipher their intentions.
At the present moment in history, there’s an excellent opportunity to get you started by examining the presidential and vice presidential candidates. On the one hand you have Former Guy — who, as you surely know already, is just about the sleaziest character ever to set foot on the American political stage. And his demeanor shows it. He slouches forward like a guilty schoolboy; his face wears a constant scowl as an emblem of his intense disdain for anyone who doesn’t bow down before him; his mouth is clenched in a tight anal rictus that articulates his nonstop lies with the utmost fake sincerity; and his hands run through a very limited range of standardized motions — formerly, the “okay” sign was his default gesture, but now he seems stuck in “accordion” mode.
J. D. Vance is nearly as phony and arrogant, and his bearing reveals that as well. His face is often frozen in the Superiority Smirk (very common, almost to the point of being standard, among right-wing figures), signaling that he is convinced that whatever gibberish he is mouthing off is unbearably clever and original — and that he is one hundred percent entitled to get his way in everything at all times.
On the other hand, you have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who are just about as genuine and likeable, and genuinely likeable, as any candidates you could hope for. With the possible exception of Barack Obama, they are probably the most genuinely likeable major candidates since JFK. Their speeches and public appearances brighten the national mood like a champagne toast; and that quality comes through intact even if you watch them without hearing their words. They are so successful at transmitting joy that Republicans actually have started criticizing them for being too cheerful — the most common attack leveled at Harris is that she laughs too much. Normal people, however, embrace the good vibe, which is sorely needed in the world these days.
Harris and Walz just might be unwitting and benevolent beneficiaries of the Cult Of Personality, which has been far too dominant in American politics for the past several decades. Sparked, no doubt, by the flourishing motion picture industry, the Cult Of Personality seeped into and permeated just about every aspect of life in the U.S. You’ll notice that when you see the opening credits to a film, the star will be listed before the title — that is, in fact, the very definition of a film star. It’s the stars that a great many people pay to see above all — the story itself is a secondary draw.
JFK rode that stallion into The Oval Office, entering the arena just as the motion picture’s little sister, television, was entering puberty. Kennedy participated in the first-ever televised presidential debates, which viewers said he won. Listeners to the radio edition, however, were more inclined to believe that Nixon came out on top.
Kennedy was fortunate to have youth, good looks and charisma in his favor. His image may not have made the difference in the election, but it certainly didn’t hurt. And it continued to sit atop the “Camelot” mystique that crowned his time in office.
Jimmy Carter brought his Southern charm to the campaign trail, punctuated by a toothy grin perpetually frozen on his face. A political cartoon of the time featured a frame of pitch black with only those broadly grinning teeth visible, and the caption “For heaven’s sake, Jimmy, knock it off and go to sleep.” But it never faded until after the election, at which time he dropped it like a cement block, and allowed his face to relax and recover.
Carter in turn was defeated by someone who knew how to cultivate an alluring persona in grand style, having spent years perfecting the craft in the trenches of Hollywood. With his ascension to prominence, the Cult Of Personality was at last in full bloom. The Gipper, like no one before him, was a master at making the blatantly artificial seem glowingly genuine. Consequently, he was able to lie through his teeth with a demeanor that convinced his audience that he was a kindly uncle looking out for their best interests.
The two Bushes revived the Good Old Boy avatar, though unlike the authentically southern Carter (and Clinton), they were carpetbaggers from Maine posing as Dixie Dicks. Both of them, particularly the younger, painted themselves as the Goober Everyman who assured Joe Six Pack that, “hey, I’m one of you”. (We did all go to Yale thanks to family connections, didn’t we?) And the media, as well as a large part of the public, bought into the act; it was all too common for the media to report that Junior was — in contrast to the reputedly wooden Al Gore — the candidate you’d most like to have a beer with. That’s what we all want from a guy with his finger on the button, right?
And then came the MAGA mob, which absolutely blew the roof off. I may be mistaken (I certainly hope not) but it appears that the Cult Of Personality reached dazzling heights that are the absolute limits of what is humanly possible with the former reality TV host and eternal conman — who sells branded sneakers, virtual “cards” of himself as superhero, and pieces of the suit he wore debating Biden, to gullible worshippers who plaster his name and likeness on their homes, pickup trucks and yachts; and who literally erect a golden idol of him.
But now there is an opportunity to turn the Cult on its ear. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are also appealing personalities; but this time it’s for all the right reasons rather than all the wrong ones. It’s because their public images exude the authentic warmth and decency that characterize their lives. Personality itself, however colorful, should never be enough. But if all else is equal (which it most emphatically is not) wouldn’t you rather have someone honorable and genuinely likeable representing you on the world stage?
The Propaganda Professor 
You are referring to “The President’s Speech” from The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks, 1985. https://plantainclan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Oliver-Sacks-The-PresidentS-Speech.pdf
I was curious whether this story and widely held impression of aphasics was true, and did find one study that confirmed that aphasics are more accurate at detecting lies: https://www.nature.com/articles/35012129
Do you have a good reference for body language and demeanor as propaganda tools?
Hmmm… The focus here was on how body language betrays intentions, not how it can be deliberately manipulated. That might be a good topic to research and write about in the future.
cornel west exists, he’s a better candidate than the 2 mainstream parties in terms of policies that could hopefully bring about a more fair & kind world, so don’t know why we’re keep lying to ourselves that Kamala/who-ever-else-is-democrat should win *just* cuz they better than trump-like rightwing… it’s not only about who I would have beers with!
West may be a better candidate, but he has zero chance of winning — and a decent chance of being a spoiler. I’m all for independent and third party candidates — in fact, I’d prefer them. But only if they first prove themselves in lower political races so they have a realistic chance to make a presidential run that is constructive rather than destructive.
When I used to partake of Maryjane, I often tuned into a state of mind in which reading beneath the apparent virtue and honesty of speaker–I saw that they were full of exaggerated and empty movements that were full of standard political expressions–like waving their hands in ways intended to make such politicians look “impassioned”, Yet it was all so phony that my friends and I could only giggle with delight. I will always remember Bill Clinton’s wooden hand-waving and fake-sounding honesty as he feigned righteous rage by moving both hands up and down and exclaiming, “I did not have sex with that woman!” However ample evidence destroyed Bill’s confessions and, we were told, prompted him to issue a sincere apology to Hillary before his impeachment by the House became unavoidable, yet did not ruin his reputation as a good politician who worked across the aisle with Republicans to better the common man’s lot. Bill accepted the irrefutable evidence that prompted the white house to admit to his faults before ending the 1990s with a budget surplus of 200 billion dollars–something we will likely never see again. But as we know, former presidents and Congressmen who use their power to manipulate Congress are frequent, like the Red scare –pushed by Gene McCarthy that blackballed anyone who ever just attended a meeting of the Communist party out of curiosity. And maybe 15 years later Nixon declared that if any action was ordered by the president it broke no laws. But he died a few years later, as a washed-out drunk who finally admitted his crimes before dying.
Trump is an exception to the rule of law which considers any American caught by the long arm of the law, to be just as guilty as any other person. However, Trump was taught the art of double-downing and lying to cover up any pesky guilt. To me, he looks amusing at times–like a mob boss ready to take out his machine gun and whack a snitch, and who then uses convenient lies that he never admitted to, to perpetually cover up his deed. And, no matter how many times he expelled the obvious by doubling down on his supposed innocence, his persistent cult following learned to neutralize his mistakes and distract the public, by double-downing attempts to impeach Joe and send Hunter Biden to jail.
And how can any sincere Christian seriously claim Trump is a prophet sent by God? Well, by accepting such a myth, they envision making America a theologically run country that has the power to tell students what they can read and what they can’t, and the power to hide the history of that White men have had a long past of racial strife, and divisions between who has the power and who does not, so these once reasonable and family loving people became tools for Trump to take over this country.
Recently began to realize this unmistakably happened when the SCOTUS refused to renew section 5 of the Voting Rights Act based on the claim we were no longer racists, and didn’t need no fair or stinking voting laws. Republicans immediately began passing numerous kinds of voting fraud that were intended to give the MAGA men an unfair advantage. Then, more recently, the SCOTUS ruled that even a former president could not be prosecuted for doing anything he had deemed as his official duties!
So the scourge of Trump is no longer just a theoretical or a neurotic worry by Americans believe they will never actually happen while Trump hijacks our democracy and turns it into an Autocracy that he completely controls. The travesty has already succeeded and the only way we can defend our Democratic principles is to vote like all of our(once free) lives depended on engaging MAGA cultists at the ballot box.
As for Trump’s religious devotees–Christ does not judge us for what we say, but for what we do, but Jesus said, “It is what comes from a man’s mouth, that defiles him.” And that we need to be good Samaritans who are willing to help and share even with people who are not from our land, like any (good Samaritans) should. And when a wealthy man who had always kept the commandments asked Jesus what he could do to follow him, Jesus said, “Take all that you own and give it to the poor.” and the man became sad because he was a very wealthy person.
About attending Church Jesus said, “the sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.” But the fascist wolves are howling at our doors, and if we don’t vote In November Trump will become Lord of our country and he (will) succeed in getting all the power grabs that are so openly outlined in Proposition 25!
I have to ask, did anyone see that wonderful debate? Kamala Harris mopped the floor with Trump. She came across as adult and intelligent and he showed himself as the juvenile and spoiled wannabe dictator he is! But of course, he has already been telling his supporters he won; therefore, there will be no second debate with Harris. And of course, he’s accusing the moderators of ganging up on him and asking inappropriate questions. He refused to admit that he lost the 2020 election. Why so? If he thinks he won then why not tell us again? How long will it be before his followers remain hypnotized by a king wearing no clothes?
In America, we have seen much social unrest and racial violence. Still, eventually, things began to get more “normal.” Such reoccurrences cause us to believe that we are likely to obtain justice in the long run. Thus, our familiarity with justice during other times of political turmoil has made it harder for us to believe that Trump is any different and that he will (not) effectively sink the floundering ship of Democracy. After all, the battles of 2020 and 2022 were falsely mischaracterized in the same way, yet we survived, and now it’s harder for us to hear any alarm bells, even while knowing that what is happening now has little to do with democracy. But MAGA now has a much more effective propaganda machine that can truly do irreparable harm to our economy and our democracy. So it’s harder for us to forget what our good intentions are poised to do–such as convince us all that we will succeed without a full-fledged political struggle, and without waging a much more effective way to counter propaganda. So vote for Harris and Waltz, because this time is (not) like ( ANY) of the others. We have never had a President who refuses to admit that he did not win (for 8 years) and is running again while refusing to admit he has been bested by those in the other party–even after losing more than 60 legal cases, several unsuccessful recounts, yet has eventually launched a full-fledged political struggle to hold on to power, and who shows unmistakable signs that he wants to be our fascist king and will not let his enemies escape the power he soon might have.
Don’t expect the SCOTUS to help us, it has already stepped aside from legal procedures and given Trump the potential powers of a Dictator!