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Perceptions of Candidate Character Traits and thePresidential Vote in 2004

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2008

Charles Prysby
Charles Prysby
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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Extract

Many media pundits explained Bush's victory in the 2004 presidentialelection as due in large part to an advantage that he held overKerry in personal characteristics or character traits, at least asperceived by the voters. By these accounts, Kerry was seen by manyvoters as aloof, humorless, vacillating, and indecisive. Incontrast, Bush was viewed as warm, authentic, and a strong leader.Such interpretations were expressed by a wide range of journalists.For example, New York Times Op-Ed columnist DavidBrooks (2004a) claimed that if “… theDemocrats had nominated Dick Gephardt, this election wouldn't beclose, but character is destiny, and Kerry's could be debilitating…” Also in the New York Times, Kate Zernike andJohn Broder (2004) found that ininterviews around the country taken the day after the election, “thevoices of voters … fairly shouted that the outcome was … about afundamental question of character.” Leadership was the trait mostcommonly cited as one of Bush's strengths. As one voter whom theyinterviewed put it, “People say George Bush is a cowboy … People sayhe shoots quick … sometimes you have to do that, you have to bedecisive. Kerry never projected that.” Kerry was also faulted forbeing dull and uninspiring. Brooks (New York Times2004b) felt that Kerry talked “like amanager or an engineer.” Others felt that Kerry lacked the personalwarmth or charm that would allow voters to relate to him. Klein(2006, 221) felt that Kerry “…remained aloof, a distant figure, a politician in all the worstsenses of the word.” Perhaps the worst insult was hurled by one ofmy students, who called Kerry “too professorial.”Author's note: I appreciate thecomments provided by two of my colleagues, David Holian and GregMcAvoy.

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FEATURES
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PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 115 - 122
Copyright
© 2008 The American Political Science Association

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