Last week I was having dinner with my son and his boyfriend, Craig when, amazingly, our discussion turned to politics. Craig, an avid Hillary supporter and knowing my heart belongs to Bernie, began making light of and belittling Bernie’s campaign and particularly attacking his hand gestures. Naturally, I took umbrage. Yesterday, my friend Joe and I went to see Bernie in Peterborough, NH, just ten miles down the road. Sitting in the front row we had a clear view of the man and his gestures. Successful politicians often have unique and identifiable gestures: Bill Clinton always laid his thumb in his index finger to make a point, JFK often stuck his hand in his suit coat pocket with the thumb sticking out. Some of these gestures look like they came from campaign consultants rather than a natural inclination of the candidate. Bernie often talks with his hands. While at first one might find his hand motions an interesting trait, one soon realizes that this is Bernie. His hands punctuate his passion about his ideas. No one can question Bernie’s passion about his ideas: income inequality, equal pay for equal work, campaign finance reform, free tuition at public colleges, living wages, addressing climate destruction, medicare for all, healthcare reform, reforming Wall Street…
Craig’s comments about Bernie and his gestures reminded me of what candidates often do when they feel threatened; instead of arguing the issues, they make personal attacks on their opponent. In latest New Hampshire poll, Bernie is ahead of Hillary by 21% points. Hillary and her supporters are panicking and they too are beginning to not ignore Bernie any longer but attacking him, often personally…sorry Craig but you might want to try feeling the Bern.
Mike Munhall Photos 