Possibly irrelevant gravitas

[mtbc]

An unfortunate aspect of politics is that things that ought not matter, actually can. I am reminded, for instance, of Margaret Thatcher thinking it worth getting vocal coaching. More proximately, I was disappointed to find that Kamala Harris talking about Russia's actions regarding Ukraine reminded me of Liz Truss talking about cheese imports. Of course, they both went to Munich, though I've not also caught video of the latter's warnings on Russia. It's not an issue with the words themselves, I don't know what it is, but I do think it would have landed with more impact if delivered by, say, Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren, maybe also Madeleine Albright though my memory's hazier on her manner. I wonder if it's not just me feeling this trying to sound serious, and if acting classes could make all the difference, given how performative politics is. At least she probably still did better than Ed Miliband would have.

Comments

[thewayne]

It's ridiculous that women need something like voice coaching to be taken seriously, but such is the world that we live in today. Angela Merkel didn't, as far as I know, but she's a force of nature unto herself who came from East Germany, and German politics are somewhat different than those in the USA.

[mtbc]

As noted re. Ed Miliband, he might too! But, yes, an unfortunate reality that performance matters, maybe more than content, hence our dear leader Boris. I'm not sure how much it differs between men and women, there seem a fair few examples on both sides, but of course it's real plausible that there's some bias there too.