Do Americans Prefer 'Brawn Over Brains' & Substance In Their Politicians?

9.8.11]---The GOP debate was Wednesday night and many analysts are saying that though Mitt Romney was more of an intellectual superior to Rick Perry, the Texas governor was the front-runner for his robust 'machismo.'

Which begs the question, do Americans prefer brawny machismo over brains and substance?

During the Republican presidential debate, Mitt and Perry dominated with a lively sparring match while Ms. Iowa Straw Poll winner, Michelle Bachmann faded into the background and was missing in action.

Now that Perry has entered the race, the buzz is around him. Why? Is it because he has a stellar record of balancing budgets, creating and maintaining jobs, is fiscally responsible yet in tune with the needs of his constituents, a pioneer on exploring new forms of energy while reigning in the big oil companies, has a model health care program for Texans?

Or is it despite accomplishing any of the above, he managed to hold the gubernatorial reins in Texas for 10 years and now looks like the aggressive cowboy leading the herd?

In fact it seems the more controversial he gets, the bigger the support. Perry has said some things that would make a fifth grader raise an eyebrow--from evolution and creation to Social Security being a Ponzi scheme. His latest machismo gesture: he called ex-VP Cheney a liar.

Before that he created quite a stir. Answering a question on how old the earth was, posed by one young constituent on a visit to Portsmouth last month, Perry answered, “You know what, I don’t have any idea--I know it's pretty old. So it goes back a long, long ways. I'm not sure anybody actually knows completely and absolutely how old the Earth is."

On the question of evolution, the governor replied,"It's a theory that is out there. It's got some gaps in it. In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools because I figure you're smart enough to figure out which one is right."

The day before that in New Hampshire, the Texas governor had created quite a controversial buzz when he promptly went on to discredit global warming, saying it was all manufactured by scientists who 'manipulated data,' for financial gain.

He has also accused Fed. Chair Ben Bernanke or "treason." Yet he is more popular than ever.

George W Bush was also from Texas, with that same old cowboy machismo many Americans seem to gravitate to. The kind they can sit and have a beer with. Go hunting to shoot a few moose with.

Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, has that take charge, hold no prisoners persona and we saw it in action when hurricane Irene was barreling into town. He was heard during a televised press conference, ordering New Jersey residents to "get the hell off the beach and go to a shelter."

Maybe it's that 'brawny' style that has many of his fellow GOP begging him to get into the presidential race. So far he has flatly refused. (I wonder what's the real story there ?)

Before he dropped out of The presidential race, poor Tim Pawlenty was the punch line on some late night comedy shows, for what many called his 'wet noodle, sans alpha male, boring lack of personality' persona. He was discounted before we even heard what he had to say.

Ronald Reagan played cowboys in Movies so I do see a pattern here. President Obama is always criticized for his 'professorial' approach. His 'too cool and detached' persona. One headline even referred to the President as a "Wimp in the White House." Ouch!

Am I on to something here?

Written by Veronica Roberts 9.8.11