In their appearances candidates for president must balance our need to see them as one of us with our need for them to embody wisdom and excellence equal to the immense power of the job. In short, they need to look and sound better than us without seeming too good for us.
I see Obama managing this tension in a full-bodied look at some of his recent speeches. We know that the body communicates or speaks, and television coverage and Internet coverage of the races give us plenty of opportunity to see and hear the candidates as they chase the presidency. Obama's body language has become more and more a part of his message.
Has anyone else noticed how he raises his chin when he hits a high point? It's really kind of cocky, to have your chin so high, but at the same time, we've all known cocky people who can back it up, and when Obama is talking about King or about the American Dream or our future, he backs it up. The proud chin-up position is an extension of the firm posture that we take as a sign of leadership. It allows him to look down at his audience, but since his speeches often mix warmth with toughness, it's not aloof or standoffish.
Likewise, anyone notice the furrowed brow? It's almost always furrowed lately. Again, it actually communicates a kind of anger or fierceness, but he never seems mean (for that, watch McCain talk about Romney--positively McNasty). Thinking ahead, the furrowed brow is a nice antidote to the Republican party's strategy of feminizing its opponents in the last few elections. That is, a guy who looks like this and talks like this is harder to paint as "soft" on defense or crime. Whatever he might be saying with words, he is also saying with his face.
I've said nothing of his skin or its color, which is a big part of his overall bodily affect, especially with white America. But that's another topic.
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