OTOH, some actors have done pretty good jobs as politicians. Schwarzenegger–a GOP governor that actually listened to people!–Jesse Ventura (not a great governor, TBH, but decent), and Al Franken are examples of actors that ended up being pretty solid politicians. Ideally, a good politician is someone that has connections to people that understand good public policy, and can then communicate that effectively to the public in order to lead well.
The problem with Reagan isn’t the acting per se, but that he was an awful person, and so good at connecting with people that a lot of people couldn’t see his rotten core.
I should’ve emphasized “shitty”. Have we had a terrible actor that’s a good politician yet (genuinely don’t know)? I want to believe that being a good actor requires some measure of empathy, so it’s not surprising that reagan and the current pissy creamsicle were hacks.
When he was younger maybe but as he got older reagen needed teleprompter for virtually everything. He had lost his ability to speak off the cuff as his alzheimers progressed
OTOH, some actors have done pretty good jobs as politicians. Schwarzenegger–a GOP governor that actually listened to people!–Jesse Ventura (not a great governor, TBH, but decent), and Al Franken are examples of actors that ended up being pretty solid politicians. Ideally, a good politician is someone that has connections to people that understand good public policy, and can then communicate that effectively to the public in order to lead well.
The problem with Reagan isn’t the acting per se, but that he was an awful person, and so good at connecting with people that a lot of people couldn’t see his rotten core.
I should’ve emphasized “shitty”. Have we had a terrible actor that’s a good politician yet (genuinely don’t know)? I want to believe that being a good actor requires some measure of empathy, so it’s not surprising that reagan and the current pissy creamsicle were hacks.
We’ve had terrible politicians who were even worse actors if that counts. I’m thinking of “B-1” Bob Dornan to be specific.
When he was younger maybe but as he got older reagen needed teleprompter for virtually everything. He had lost his ability to speak off the cuff as his alzheimers progressed