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Dancing With the Stars and Stripes
Perhaps the biggest advantage of campaigning in Puerto Rico is that it forces both candidates to dance.
Obama broke into a timid little groove—it looks kind of like he’s running in place—while campaigning on Saturday in Puerto Rico’s Old San Juan (video here; it’s around 1:50). Yesterday, Fox News embed Aaron Bruns managed to persuade Hillary Clinton to make vaguely dancelike movements to Enrique Iglesias’ “Be With You” at a bar.
Both moments are, somehow, incredibly charming. If I were an advance staffer for a campaign, I’d get palpitations every time danceable music started playing. Everyone knows dancing makes perfect stock footage for attack ads. But the high risk comes with high payoff. When Obama shook it on Ellen, he probably won over grandmothers across the nation. In Clinton’s case, showing vulnerability has worked out rather nicely, too.
Best of all, it provides some clear contrast with John McCain (Exhibit A). Every time McCain proposes an unmoderated debate, Obama should propose a pop and lock contest.
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