Iowa was obviously a triumph for Ted Cruz.
Poll numbers had shown him trailing Donald Trump just days before the election. He should be commended on his win. What he should not be commended on is his victory speech that seemed to rival the length of his 21 hour “filibuster” in 2013. The speech epitomized what is wrong with Ted Cruz the candidate – as dedicated and honest as he may be, he still comes off as a televangelist who has a side job as a used car salesman. His policies are not the issue here. The issue is that the product he is selling is a brand new Ferrari, yet he makes it sound like a lime green 1997 Buick LeSabre.
Cruz is one of the very few who has the talent to make “morning is coming” sound ominous. He is a man of principle, but principles don’t win elections and generally haven’t since 1960, with the first televised presidential debate.
Those who listened to that debate between Kennedy and Nixon on the radio felt Nixon had won. Those who watched the debate on television felt Kennedy had won.
Presentation is becoming more and more important in national campaigns. There is a reason Barack Obama was elected and re-elected. On what principles did he run? What credentials did he have? He beat a former Governor and successful businessman in Mitt Romney not because Romney wasn’t conservative enough, but because Romney came across as an out-of-touch rich guy with the personality of a wet blanket.
Now, this is not to say that principles don’t matter, because they do. But in modern America, the average citizen is disconnected from reality. In campaigns, presentation and the ability to persuade is now the most important factor in winning. Only about 7 percent of human communication is what a person is actually saying. Ted Cruz is very talented in that regard, but he struggles with the other 93 percent.
Ted Cruz doesn’t have the ability to get the “average Joe” to rally behind him like Reagan or Obama have successfully done in the past. He deserves respect for defending the Constitution in the Senate, but the United States is in perilous times and in need of a leader who can win over minds and hearts.
Ted Cruz simply fails to do so.