Everybody loves a comeback and Hillary Clinton pulled off a whopper of an upset in the New Hampshire Primary the other night. For the blissfully uninformed, Clinton has been the presumed Democratic presidential nominee for the last several years. Up until a month ago, she had been far ahead of all her competitors in the national polls and appeared invincible...until the Iowa caucus. In a stunning defeat, she finished third behind Barack Obama and John Edwards. Of course, we all know the power of social proof and accordingly, Obama leapfrogged ahead of her in the polls. In fact, polling results released just before the New Hampshire Primary showed Obama ahead of Clinton by as many as 10 points. The problem is, he actually lost to her by 2. What happened?!
The media loves to promote controversy to boost ratings and raise ad revenue and speculation has been rampant:
1) CNN has promoted the theory that white voters were reluctant to admit to pollsters that they wouldn't vote for Obama, an African American man. Out of some anxiety over being seen as or feeling racist, some white voters said they planned to vote for Obama even though they had no intention of doing so. This theory is provocative and compelling, but hardly consistent. The Iowa Caucus polls were right on the money, as were the polls depicting the 2006 gubernatorial election in MA that featured Deval Patrick, an African American male, and Kerry Healey, a white female. Is there something special about New Hampshire voters?
2) Another possible theory is that a lot of polling companies still rely on calling landline phone numbers. However, many people, particularly younger voters, are increasingly using cell phones exclusively. I am actually in this group as I haven't had a landline phone in four years. Polling results may lose accuracy if there is a difference in the voting patterns of people who still use landlines vs. those who do not. To circumvent this issue, pollsters are using calling machines that generate and dial phone numbers randomly. Though the problem is minimized with this technique, many cell phone users have area codes that are different from those that are standard for their state because people move around. This issue is particularly true in New Hampshire, which has had a huge influx of Massachusetts residents over the past decade. Getting a truly random sample is challenging. Still, can this problem explain the 12 point discrepancy on Tuesday night?
My theory is the polls were correct; the Clinton camp simply pulled off a dramatic turnaround in 48 hours. How did they do it? They exploited the 19th Amendment.
If you ever doubted the power of authenticity to move women, watch the above video for a reality-shattering experience. In a rare moment of vulnerability, the former First Lady's eyes welled up after someone asked her how she copes with the extreme stress of the political campaign. That moment was all that was needed to transfer Obama's Oprah-fueled support of women over to Hillary who connected with female voters by dropping her guard.
Sound crazy? None of this is rooted in science, reason, or logic. Women are not moved by facts, figures, or polls, but by emotions. Yes, social proof helps, but it pales in effect to authenticity. They crave it, they flock to it, and they vote for it - even over the objections of Oprah.
I'm certain her husband has been encouraging her to reveal her more warm and personable side. He "gets it;" he knows on a deep level how to connect with women. He knows that they have a fundamentally different understanding of emotions (in general) than men do.
Men see crying as weakness; women see crying as frustration. In fact, the next time you are with a woman who is crying, reflect her back by saying, "it's frustrating." You'll be surprised by her response. They are merely releasing their emotions, but everything is still ok. Men think there's a problem that needs to be fixed and then create an issue when there never was one. I remember listening to male media heads griping that her crying was disturbing, arguing that she may not be tough enough to handle the rigors of the general presidential election or the foreign policy nightmare the next president will inherit from "Dubya." Women didn't see it that way. They were moved and inspired to help out, not condemn.
So, what can we learn from the Clintons? Reveal some vulnerability to draw women toward you and compel to want to help out. After they do, be a gentleman and reward her with the cock she craves. ;)
-The Dicknotist
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