Man o' the People

The Washington Post has an article analyzing Bush's salesmanship on his current road tour, as seen by various sales trainers and experts. While he gets high marks from many, I found this passage telling:

Bush needs to work on his verbal cues, some experts say. He mispronounces words and smiles at odd times. "It can make him seem a little unsure of himself, or that he's covering something up," says Dave Lahkani, author of the forthcoming book "Persuasion -- the Art of Getting What You Want."

Bush's fast-moving manner can make his listening skills appear suspect, Lahkani says. This point is bolstered during Bush's onstage "conversations."

In Omaha on Friday, a divorced single mother named Mary Mornin tells the president, "I have one child, Robbie, who is mentally challenged, and I have two daughters."

"Fantastic," the president exclaims, and he tells her she has "the hardest job in America, being a single mom."

Later, the 57-year old Mornin tells Bush that she works three jobs, which the president deems "uniquely American" and "fantastic." He asks her if she gets any sleep.

Sleep. Yeah. I'm sure that's her biggest problem. Nice empathy there, George.

You don't suppose he looks like he's covering something up because he is covering something up, do you?