WHAT IF, on November 6, instead of voting for who you think is the right choice for president, you unburden yourself with deciding the future of the free world by voting for the guy you just like more?
Roger Ailes, the communication coach to Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. wrote: "The silver bullet in business and politics is the like factor. All things being equal, we are more likely to vote for people we feel we like."
As BuzzFeed reported on Oct. 9, Obama's Facebook page had surged by 1 million "likes" in just one day. Today his tally is up to 30,724,342 likes. Romney's has 8,998,966 likes. That's a 60 percent difference that's easily dismissed by the pundits and the pollsters, but can not be completely ignored -- if those thumbs-up tallies are truly the raw scores of "Likeability."
"Romney may have brought an improved likeability profile to the debate, but Barack Obama still exceeds in all the factors of likeability," says Dave Kerpen, author of the New York Times bestseller "Likeable Social Media" and his newly released follow-up "Likeable Business."
According to Kerpen, being likeable in politics requires the following five traits.
1. STORYTELLING - Reaching people
"Stories are essential to human understanding," says Kerpen. "Telling a narrative is essential as a leader to provide clarity, context, and vision."
Romney was slow to reveal details of his privileged upbringing. And on the trail his stories are mostly about his powerhouse dad, George Romney, and his own days as governor of Massachusetts and as a game-changing CEO at Bain & Co. He uses the same stories for color that he also touts as his main qualifications for the presidency, and it's costing him on this major likeability qualification.
"Obama's personal stories make him more human and unique. Obama cares about all Americans, not just 53% of them," notes Kerpen. "He doesn't talk about his Cadillacs, he tells stories that resonate universally."
2. ADAPTABILITY - Romney Adjusts, Obama Adapts
"Romney is a flip-flopper. Saying the right things in the debate and having great come-backs is the result of a team of people working to win him the election. But that strategy might not pay-off...in 2004, John Kerry, known as a 'flip-flopper' won every debate, but ultimately lost the election."
But more than anything, Obama's likeability has resonated with a generation immersed in digital culture, because he's adapted to it, says Kerpen.
"Obama’s use of social media shows his ability to speak to people the way they speak to each other; he's embraced changes in communication and used it to his advantage," says Kerpen.
3. PASSION - Leading from love
"Being president is a tough job, and in order to persevere, there has to be passion -- for the position and for the people.
"Obama's lack of aggression was read as a lack of passion during the first debate," says Kerpen.
Despite his lackluster showing at last week's debate, it's hard to deny President Obama's passion when we've already experienced it many times -- in his inspiring speeches that moved the nation in the last campaign and throughout his presidency. But it's not just force behind the words, the objective has to be likeable, too.
"Romney’s passionate about...money, and people with money, and how to increase the flow of money. He lacks passion for the every-day person and his or her struggles that may mean more to them than the deficit," says Kerpen.
4. TRANSPARENCY -- Openness and accountability
"In order to have faith during these trying times, we need to trust our leaders -- that trust requires transparency and honesty," says Kerpen.
Obama had to reveal his birth-certificate to prove his legitimacy. But Romney's tax returns and business records from Bain remain largely in obscurity, leaving skeptical voters to wonder why he is not more forthcoming.
"Romney may have won the debate, but he also won the most number of lies told," Kerpen says. "Part of the disappointment over Obama's performance resulted from frustration that he didn't call Romney out on these lies and fight back in the moment."
5. AUTHENTICITY – Does it all add up?
Authenticity means being the real deal. In order to judge a candidate's authenticity, all the factors must suggest the other factors. For instance, Obama's transparency confirms the truth of his storytelling, and his storytelling confirms his perseverance, and his perseverance confirms his passion.
"Authentic political leaders are personable, relatable, and thoroughly human. It is the final and most important part of being trustworthy in the eyes of the public.
"At the debate, I felt Romeny did a very good job of coming off as authentic, and his storytelling had improved. He even told some jokes talking about big bird and stuff that added to his surprise and delight factor.
"He was successful at being likeable, but is he truly likeable enough? Is he really transparent? Is he adaptable? Is he a creative story teller like Obama? In the next debate I know Obama will shine."
Obviously, Gagnam style measures on the likeability scale.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/obama-sees-unusual-spike-in-facebook-likes
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