We Elect Jackasses Every Chance We Get

Sloppy words aren't gaffes, they are insights into the men pursuing the Presidency

It was February 26, 1972. In New Hampshire. On a flatbed truck, leading Democratic presidential contender, Ed Muskie tried to defend himself from accusations that he laughed when someone used a racial slur describing Franco-Americans as “Canucks.” The accusation was made public when the Manchester Union Leader published a handwritten letter signed by Paul Morris of Deerfield Beach, Florida and it forced the Senator from Maine to defend himself in the driving snow.

Muskie was already known for his thin skin, so it was easy to believe when several reporters claimed that his face was dampened, not by snowflakes, but by tears. “It changed people’s minds about me, of what kind of guy I was. They were looking for a strong, steady man and here I was weak” Muskie said later.

But Muskie didn’t tolerate the racial slur in his presence. It was a lie. Just another Nixon dirty trick. What voters saw was his low emotional intelligence in that moment and they didn’t like it. That’s what cost him his shot at the Presidency.

The ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you is how Psychologist Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence (EQ). “The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence,” Goleman told Harvard Business School.

A large part of emotional intelligence is social awareness. The art of recognizing other people and showing empathy toward them. Muskie was accused of a lack of empathy toward Franco-Americans but what he really displayed was another part of emotional intelligence; self-management.

We Elect Low EQ Candidates on the Regular

In the kind of irony only Richard Nixon could conjure up, just four months earlier, in October of 1971, President Nixon was laughing at the racist tirade blasting through the phone. “To see those, those monkeys from those African countries—damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes,” Governor Ronald Reagan told Nixon. He was referring to United Nation delegates from Africa. But, of course, American voters didn’t know that at the time. Nor did we know it nine years later when Reagan mounted his Presidential campaign. We didn’t know that until 2017 because the National Archives wanted to protect Reagan’s privacy. Reagan’s hidden racism would go on to perpetuate the “Welfare Queen” myth that still plagues us today.

Senator George McGovern was long considered, as the South Dakota Standard put it, a gentleman and a gentle man. Generally speaking, McGovern’s EQ and IQ operated in harmony. Even so, toward the end of his 1972 Presidential run, McGovern had his fill of a heckler. As he approached the man, he leaned in and said “Listen, you son of a bitch, why don’t you kiss my ass?” Another time, on an airplane, a woman refused his apology for causing a delay in take-off. She was rude. McGovern quietly leaned in her direction and said, “I’ve been traveling this country for two years, and you’re the biggest horse’s ass I’ve ever met.” She went straight to the nearest reporter.

Both times his campaign wanted him to deny it. Both times he overruled them. Emotional intelligence is also about controlling the damage you did when your EQ abandoned you. McGovern’s advisors were sent into a tizzy of damage control. Both times they chose humor. “What did you expect him to call him? An Elephant’s ass?”

Do Voters Actually Prefer People Who Can’t STFU?

For decades we have known that Donald Trump barely even registers on the EQ scale. His entire brand is built on being cruel, blameless, and combative. All trademarks of a low EQ. He’s so low EQ, he’s proud to be low EQ. It is, as they say, baked into the cake.

But what about his Brutus?

Will Ron DeSantis’ low emotional intelligence matter to voters in 2024?

It didn’t matter during our 2012 Congressional campaign when he repeatedly told his base that several agencies should “go the way of the buffalo” and that he wouldn't “go native” should he be elected to office. It didn’t matter in 2016 when continued to think “go native” was a clever thing to say. Nor did it matter in 2022 when he was quoted again quipping, “go the way of the buffalo” this time targeted at the Biden Administration. Although those idioms rarely receive push-back, as a graduate of Yale’s Department of History, Ron should know how deeply offensive they are to Native Americans. Ron’s sloppy language and lazy attempt at wit is really a reference to the systematic campaign to annihilate the American bison as a means of lessening the chance of survival by the indigenous people who relied on them.

Including Alaska Natives, only about five million (2%) Americans can claim indigenous status. A Presidential candidate can get elected without one single indigenous vote. But no one can get to the White House without the support of the 32.7 million African Americans who are eligible to vote.

In 2016, DeSantis cautioned voters not to “monkey things up” by voting for his black Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum. Gillum shot back, “I don’t know if Ron DeSantis is a racist but the racists think he’s a racist.” In November of 2018, Ron DeSantis was elected Governor of the State of Florida by 33,000 votes. Polls show as many as eighteen percent of African American women preferred DeSantis’ position on school choice over Gillum’s support of public schools.

As Governor, DeSantis has taken a tornadic approach to cultural war legislation. The Sabotaging of Florida Voting Rights Constitutional Amendment. Washing of Congressional Districts. Critical Race Theory. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. Quieting dissent. Gender-affirming care. The gentling history classes so as not to trigger some students. The erasing of Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, and even David. Leaving CNN Commentator Bakari Sellers to conclude, “What I can say for sure is that the Republican governor of Florida is using racism as political currency, something very similar to Donald Trump and very dangerous.”

What Are We Teaching The Kids?

Florida voters didn’t reject the Governor’s low-empathy brand of politics in 2022, which has had real-life consequences for teachers who are just trying to teach, citizens who are just trying to participate in civic life, and parents who are just trying to figure out what’s best for their child. But the bill always comes due and this is a bill our children will pay. Children who, during their peak emotional intelligence development years, are being taught crap like things like this -