President Bush gives his annual State of the Union address on
Januarary 31st. US voters will be watching Bush closely on
television. We recently posted a story about scientific ways
to spot spin among politicians. Now we have more scientific
information on what to look for.
Movement analyst Karen Kohn Bradley studies the nonverbal
and movement behaviors of political leaders. In order to
detect political ?spin? (a polite synonym for "lies"), she says
we should look for the following:
The Entrance: Over the last few years, President Bush has
entered the chambers with a broad focus, directing winks,
smiles, and nudges towards particular people. If that changes
this year; if he enters with head down, or with a more
determined, more grim countenance, it signals he is feeling
the heat. If he continues that former pattern, we can
understand he is ignoring the heat.
The Speech: Which aspect of his persona will he present? Will
it be the "have gun, will travel" cop of the world we saw in
2003? Will it be the nervous and confused boy we saw in the
first debate of 2004? Or will it be the beset-with-worry stern-
faced town father of recent press conferences?
Watch for hypervigilance in the eyes, excessive grimaces, the
furrowed brow that contrasts with the attempted smile, the
lip-licking that signifies nervousness, the auditory attending
that causes people to think he is being fed his speech
through an earpiece (as opposed to the visual scanning that
people who read their speeches on a monitor often display)-
all of these indicate a man under pressure and in psychic
danger.
Also, be aware of his phrasing. Does he breathe at the
appropriate points within the flow of the words or is the
language broken up in choppy and strange ways? If it is the
latter, it is possible he memorized or is being fed the speech
in segments that do not require him to actually understand
what he is saying. If it is the former, he worked hard on the
speech, and stands behind his words.
The Exit: If he lingers on the way out, shaking hands and
holding the upper arms of key supporters as he winks and
smiles at them and others, he feels relaxed and relieved. If he
hastens out abruptly, he is not so sure of how well he
performed.
Often, he looks up at Laura Bush as if to check with her as to
how he did. At such moments it is easy to see the current
nature of their relationship, which is usually quite supportive.
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