“The Smile”….or “The Mask”? You decide….
Big Hollywood’s Myrna Sokoloff is on to something here:
Presidents have nicknames. Clinton was” Bubba” or “Slick Willy,” if you didn’t like him. ”The Comeback Kid” if you did. Reagan was “Dutch” from his sportscaster days or “The Gipper” from the movies. But love him or hate him you had to admit Reagan was “The Great Communicator.”
President Obama should have a nickname from our side. Words mean something we are reminded all the time. So I am going to name him “The Smile.”
If you watch him at “town meetings” when he’s pressing his agenda and making statements that go unchallenged from the adoring crowds, he comes across as calm, reassuring and easy going while he’s attempting to dismantle American capitalism. His answer to everything is to smile.
From my perspective in Hollywood, I see that people respond to him like they do to a movie star. It’s the face, the eyes, the smile, not what he says. This phenomenon shows up in the polls. His personal popularity holds around 60%, but if you ask about specific policies, Americans don’t agree with him. Americans by wide margins do not want to close Guantanamo, are against affirmative action, and against late term abortion. The majority want him to cancel the stimulus and hate the bailouts!
But out here in L.A. we understand this. Star quality is not scientific. We just know it when we see it. Fans react to a star with an adoration which makes them buys tickets to movies and buy the DVD so they can watch it over and over. Just listen to the fans screams for the stars on the red carpet at the awards shows.
President Obama’s crowds in the campaign and his town meetings have the same reaction. All he has to do is smile.
But it reminded me of an even more appropriate moniker for The One….The Mask. See what you think.
Would that what lurks behind Obama’s mask were as innocuous as the Stanley Ipkiss/Jim Carrey character from the movie. We will not be so lucky. “From Zero to Hero,” indeed.
StickerShock:
I prefer the Irish version — Go fook yourself you ejit.
The Mask is much more fitting than The Smile. Smiles can be nervous or phoney or spontaneous & genuine. A mask is always worn to conceal, and Obama’s rise to prominence has relied heavily on concealment.
1 July 2009, 5:15 pmdriver:
Agreed….all he’s done is ditch the Superfly hat.
1 July 2009, 5:19 pmWho Would’ve Thought? WH Reporters Chip Reid and Helen Thomas Criticize Obama’s Manipulation of Media at Phony Town Hall (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone:
[...] Helen Thomas award The West Coast Outpost: Video: WH Press Corps takes Gibbsy to task Amused Cynic: “The Smile”….or “The Mask”? You decide…. Myrna Sokoloff, Big Hollywood: ‘The Smile’: A Perfect Presidential Nickname Gazzers Gabfest: [...]
1 July 2009, 6:03 pm“What Took You So Long?” Obama’s Waffling on Iranian Support & His BBQ with Murderous Mullahs (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone:
[...] dissident reporters and Obama-come-lately on Iran; O’s obligatory press conference Amused Cynic: “The Smile”….or “The Mask”? You decide…. Jim Blazsik: Her Name Was Neda: A Generational Chance for Freedom by U.S. Representative Thaddeus [...]
1 July 2009, 6:05 pmHindoeïstisch:
What’s the difference? Obama makes comments unchallenged by the adoring crowd, and ditto Reagan. Both had/have a way with soaring rhetoric and inspiring the unwashed masses. … Re: Obama’s smile. It is what it is. It’s not like he manufactured a particular smile for public consumption. … People respond to Obama as they would a movie star, yes they do … just as they did with Reagan. That’s often what happens with great public speakers. My feeling is that Obama and Reagan are flip sides of the same coin, only one was conservative, the other liberal.
1 July 2009, 6:23 pmdriver:
Hindooschtick: If you could find for me a hint of an iota of an example of Reagan being adored by the media, you might have a point. But you can’t, and you don’t. I accept you at your word (expressed earlier and elsewhere) that you truly have no idea of what’s coming down the pike. That’s kindness on my part, not absolution for your lemming-like judgement.
1 July 2009, 9:01 pmHindoo:
Reagan may not have been adored by the media, but he was a narcotic to the unwashed masses.
I truly do appreciate your kindness, driver, because I have no doubt that you could verbally eviscerate me should you choose to. I am but a meek and humble soul.
Re: My lemming-like judgement … Don’t think so. I think my judgement is as good as the next guy’s. Maybe better. …
Re: What’s coming down the pike. It’s true, I don’t know. Nor do you. Nor does anyone else. But I have faith that my country has the fortitude to survive whatever evildoers happen to be in charge, be they Democrat or Republican. We lived through eight years of Bush/Cheney, so we can surely to God survive 4-to-8 years of Obama/Biden. So I say.
1 July 2009, 10:46 pmWoodwork:
Hindoo wrote:
“My lemming-like judgement … Don’t think so. I think my judgement is as good as the next guy’s. Maybe better.”
Hindoo:
Maybe the next “guys” but unless you are a ‘wise Latina Woman,’ you have nothing to back that up with nowadays. Far as I can tell you are just some educated middle-aged white woman lacking both the necessary melanin and salsa to be of any significance when it comes to opinion or judgment. But take heart, perhaps a tanning booth, a diet of arroz con habichuelas and a salsa dance instructor could improve your rep, gringo.
As for ‘The One’s’ moniker (personally, I like “The One”) how about “Token” as it operates at a common and at a political level. A combination of Panama Jack hittin’ the dobie and the first president to make anxiety ridden white people feel really good about themselves in a national plebiscite.
2 July 2009, 8:58 am