Our Presidential Candidates on Talk Shows: Who Does Better?

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Recently, our three major presidential candidates have made high-profile appearances on TV talk shows, with varying results. Does an ability to share easy jokes and gentle ribbing with our nation’s nighttime sleep-inducers and afternoon time-wasters correlate to success in the polls? Let’s take a look at some clips and see who’s best at the gabfests.

First up, Hillary Clinton appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night:

Entry Music: Theme from Rocky, not bad
Best attempt at self-mockery: “I was worried I wasn’t going to make it; I was pinned down by sniper fire.” Funny, but almost too funny, and a little creepy: is a Lewinsky joke next?
Worst try at comedy: “Every night someone calls at 3am… [to Jay] you gotta stop calling me.” Hmm, guess her writers are still on strike.
General demeanor: Amiable, with some good applause lines, but a little desperate-seeming. The extended policy speeches can get a little boring. And for God’s sake, have a lozenge!

Next, it’s John McCain on Letterman on Tuesday, trading some wacky comedy one-liners like they’re on a roast or something:

Entry Theme: Is that Spanish? Is Paul having an immigration-themed laugh?
Best attempt at self-mockery: None, really, although letting Dave have the line about how McCain’s got “wiry hair growing out of new places” is something I guess.
Best line: While all the jokes are cute enough, it’s the little details that make McCain a real comedian, like the deadpan “You think that stuff’s pretty funny dontcha,” when he comes out, and a quick impression of Dave’s hands-in-pockets posture.
Worst moment: The too-wide, pleased-with-himself grin after the “mostly kept to himself” joke.
General demeanor: Pretty swell, but a minute-long writer-fed appearance isn’t too tough to pull off.

And finally, it’s Barack Obama on the View last week:

Entry Music: Generic View walk-on theme; can’t we get some Motown or something?
Best attempt at self-mockery: The oldie but goodie, “I’m skinny but I’m tough.”
Cutest moment: Fanning himself after Barbara Walters tells him he’s “sexy.”
Worst moment: His stuttering open to another labored Wright explanation; just write an opening line on your hand or something.
General demeanor: Friendly enough, but despite his charisma, he’s not at his best when answering tough questions.

So, who wins? Clinton matched her tone exactly to Leno’s middle-of-the-road flip-flop-wearing audience, and her alleged sense of humor came across for once. Obama’s charming, but he’s hobbled by the Wright stuff here, and isn’t on his game. McCain’s brief appearance is the most likable, and while it’s probably unfair to judge it against two 20-minute sit-downs, there’s something to be said for knowing your limitations. It’s kind of symbolic: as Hillary and Barack try to out-talk each other, McCain can swing by with a quick chuckle, and everybody goes, “I like that guy.” So while some may argue the continued Democratic battle is good for the party, in TV talk-show-land, it might not be.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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