Obama, McCain, Self Control and Political Success

Professional golfers know the hazards of losing self control. It can cost them millions in earnings. It’s clear, “managing your emotions” is key for success. Politicians, too, know what can go wrong when they give in to temptation, or otherwise let their guard down. President Bill Clinton was impeached in the aftermath of a reckless affair with a White House intern. New York Governor Elliot Spitzer resigned following the disclosure that he cavorted with a prostitute, and John Edwards betrayed his ethics and his wife when he hooked up with a videographer he met in some bar on the campaign trail.
As this year’s presidential race comes to a close, regardless of the outcome, Obama will be credited with running a virtually flawless campaign, from organization on the ground and fund raising, to message and delivery in every theater. McCain did not fare so well. Though he takes pride as an alleged maverick and underdog, and in his ability to rebound, most of his setbacks have been of his own making. He has come to be seen as impatient, impulsive, and impetuous. The pundits are now saying Obama was disciplined-- right through the final hours of the campaign, while McCain floundered.

For all his intellect, oratory, and empathy, and however much he was advantaged by the disastrous approval ratings of President Bush and the melt down of the economy, what would win the race for Obama was his self control. He’s made a few gaffs-- a stray line in Pennsylvania about folks “clinging to religion and guns” in the face of adversity, and an off-the-cuff remark on a rope line to Joe the Plumber about “spreading wealth;” but, for the most part, what came out, and came across, was what he intended. He was in control.

McCain, on the other hand, fumbled on a regular basis. Prior to the campaign, he had a reputation in the Senate as a hot head in need of anger management counseling. His choice of a running mate— both how he made the decision and its substance—was a leap of faith. Sure, he was looking for a woman and for someone who could shore up the conservative base, but this particular, unvetted conservative woman can only be seen as the rash choice of, as one columnist concluded, a smitten man. Then there was his frenetic response to the financial bail-out crisis: suspending his campaign, but doing little leg work in the capital to resolve things; pulling a no show with David Letterman. During the TV debates, his body language, his grimacing and wandering around stage, and his hostile and condescending phraseology put him in a bad light.

How do we account for these differences? Sociologist Richard Majors, in Cool Pose, discusses the dilemma faced by black men coping with racism: if they are complicit in the dominant culture, they are marginalized; but, if they are defiant, they, too, are marginalized. Cool pose is a defiant posture, which, seeks some sort of control in the face of oppression. At its functional best, it does give some control, but, on balance, it is mostly dysfunctional.
In the twists and turns of his life course, Obama found a cool pose of his own-- not overly complicit and not too defiant-- and that was through self control. It appears that when he enrolled in Columbia University, and withdrew deeply into his studies, his activism was intellectualized and his personal and political anger was tempered by self control, the foundations of his political success were being built.

McCain, on the other hand, raised in a hegemonic family of military elites and long tenured in the clubby U.S. Senate, never learned self control. Whether it was a deeply troubled relationship with his father or his terrible abuse as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, his anger seems to have been unresolved, and a insurmountable obstacle to his own self control. He was able to get away with it for a long time, until the tenacious, relentless, and unforgiving lens that is a presidential campaign captured him too many times out of control.

Ironically, something of the same was true for Obama’s own running mate, Joe Biden. Biden failed in the Democratic presidential primary race, in part, because of a comment he had made about Obama as discussed here:

"Joe Biden is set to launch his second run for the presidency today but it will likely be overshadowed by some candid comments made in an interview with Jason Horowitz of the New York Observer.

Most noteworthy is what he says about Barack Obama: 'I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.'

Not surprisingly, Matt Drudge is all over it."

Ironically, it was Obama’s self control that Biden was inadvertently caricaturing which brought about the success which brought Biden back into the race.

Surely this, and other issues will factor into our decision as we 'pull the lever' tomorrow, Election Day.  Remember to cast your ballot, and to know your voter rights before you even step foot into the booth.