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British politicians should learn from the American primaries: authenticity wins votes

James Forsyth

Wednesday, 16th January 2008

James Forsyth on the key quality which may determine the result of both the US Presidential election and the next general election

Cameron should be worried by this yearning for authenticity. While his political evolution has not been anywhere near as dramatic as his critics make out, it is still hard for him to point to any time that he has risked his political career for a cause. (In part, this is because Cameron has repeatedly found himself to be pushing at open doors; few Tory strategists would have dared hope that his positions on marriage and welfare reform would turn out to be so popular both with voters and the press.) McCain has dragged his political career off life-support and turned himself into a leading Republican contender thanks largely to his long-standing position on Iraq (which many thought would cost him the presidency) which allows him to say, you can trust me to do the right thing whatever the consequences. Cameron cannot do that yet. Brown is trying to inch into that position by showing that he has the strength to make tough decisions on issues such as nuclear power. But this attempt is unlikely to resonate, as voters don’t see these decisions as being particularly bold or courageous.

Brown could have been the ‘authenticity candidate’, turning his presentational flaws to his advantage. But his clumsy fumbling with the idea of an early election and his disingenuousness over his reasons for not going to the country destroyed this priceless asset. The Westminster village’s interest in the American races isn’t going to diminish any time soon. The contests are set to become even more dramatic in the weeks ahead and the 2008 election will affect British politics on both a strategic and a tactical level. Whoever is sworn into office on 20 January 2009 will determine both how America approaches the world and whether popular affection and respect for America can be rebuilt in Britain following the Bush presidency. Revealingly, it is estimated that a plurality of Tory MPs lean towards Hillary Clinton who, as the right-wing Democrat, is seen as the safest option. But Tories should be careful what they wish for: if it is Clinton, Brown can expect an early invitation to the White House and — as long as he looks like he is in with a shot at the next election — several opportunities to burnish his statesman credentials.

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m. bassett

January 18th, 2008 1:21pm

James, totally agree with this - I think this could something which was puzzling me, why my pacifist left-wing friends admire McCain, while some of my Republican ones are smitten with Obama. Thank you for another very interesting article.

Julia Paul

January 18th, 2008 2:20pm

"..Demand for authenticity reflects the fact that voters now see through spin faster than ever before..." No they don't - they just choose between the frying pan or the fire. If they really wanted authenticity, truth without spin and were allowed full media access to his message, they'd be voting for Ron Paul (Rep.Tx) Our media decries the rigged election of Kibaki in Kenya, but we never get an in-depth investigation into what's really going on in America. Far fetched? Paranoid? Maybe - but the next President, whether frying pan or fire, has already been designated by the hidden powers that be and the masses will do as they are told. Sad.

jon livesey

January 19th, 2008 12:21am

I'm not sure I buy this. The "authenticity" thing is largely a question of definition. One claims that the voters - those oh-so virtuous folks - want authenticity, and then one concludes that the unsuccessful candidates lack it. In other words, we don't have an independent definition of authenticity. And even if we did, who would be authentic? Hilary? It is to laugh. Obama, he talks well, but is that authentic? Huckabee is an authentic Christian, as he never ceases to remind us, but is that the authenticity we mean here? I'm unconvinced that authenticity matters, because I am not sure the voters really want it, and that in turn is because I am not sure that the voters are as saintly as we like to think. I think the voters want someone who can pull the economy out of the tail spin it's in. Both engines have flamed out and the runway is fast approaching. The voters would take help from Jimmy Cagney, if they thought he could pull it off.

Glasgow East is Brown’s dirty little secret: a hideous, costly social experiment gone wrong

Fraser Nelson

Glasgow East symbolises — as few other places in Britain can — the fact that the problem Labour faces is not just lack of leadership but lack of mission. What is to be seen in this constituency encapsulates and dramatises Labour’s abject failures to comprehend, let alone tackle, the nature of the poverty which grips our council estates.
For all the latest on the Glasgow East by-election, visit Coffee House