Mitt and Hillary - What Can We Learn

As I began to reflect on the rumors floating about concerning the possibility that Mitt Romney might be John McCain's VP nominee, I realized something that I have not heard discussed in the media: Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney have considerable similarities. In this post, I want to step away from my usual focus on persuasion and explore this observation.

Poll-Driven Campaigns
As is widely known, Hillary Clinton's chief strategist also "happens" to be a pollster (Mark Penn). Hillary has positioned herself according to polls. Similarly, Mitt Romney relied heavily upon polls and often wavered until he was sure about what the "right" view was (e.g., his reluctance to embrace the surge until he saw it was popular amongst conservatives).

Stiff
Both Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney have earned (perhaps unfairly--I would say fairly) the reputation of being stiff and not down-to-earth. For months, Mitt Romney wore a suit and tie until his handlers realized that the voters could not identify with him. Then, Mitt took the suit off and, when pressed by Chris Matthews in late January about why he decided to stop wearing a suit and tie, Mitt said that the room he interviewed in was hot (sure...).

Flip-Flopper
Mitt Romney has changed his positions on abortion, Ronald Reagan, gay marriage, and a whole host of other issues. Similarly, Hillary has changed her views on Iraq withdraw, Iran, and has nuanced her views significantly on abortion.

Wealthy
Both candidates are extremely wealthy and used their wealth in the election. Mitt spent a lot of his own money while Hillary loaned her campaign $5 million at a crucial time in the campaign. It is not that Americans won't vote for wealthy candidates (most of our Presidents have been wealthy), it is when the perception comes that a candidate is trying to buy an election that things turn sour.



Perhaps this observation is not material, but I really think there are some important similarities. Moreover, I think this observation, combined with the Obama surge, shows rather strongly that Americans want a reasonable level of authenticity amongst their political leaders.