Did Hillary Mean It?

Expert Says Her Body Language May Have Belied Strong Support She Voiced For Obama

(CBS)  In her speech to the Democratic convention Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton urged fellow Democrats to vote for Barack Obama, and she did it in no uncertain terms -- verbally.

But did her body language match her words?

Body language expert and former FBI agent Joe Navarro says he doesn't think so.

Navarro, who wrote the book "What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People," explained to Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Wednesday, "We need non-verbal (cues) to tell us what is important, what is significant, and what should we be looking for."

And Clinton's non-verbals, he says, were revealing.

"What we wanted to see was a Churchillian speech, something that would move her candidate to cross that magic fence. And she delivered a speech, but the gestures -- the non-verbals that give us the emotion -- really weren't there."

Navarro later added, "I think her message was supposed to be, 'Hey, go with me and let's vote for Barack.' There should have been a lot more emotive displays, and we just simply did not see that."

For instance, "One of the things that you see is she has very limited hand gestures. And we look for hand gestures to tell us what's important. So, when we see them out, when we see them up, this is significant. And we saw them just a few times last night, but not enough. This was not an impassioned speech."

On the other hand, Rodriguez observed, "When she was talking about things that were important to her, I did notice (non-verbals), like healthcare."

"Health care -- there was a lot of self-touching," Navarro agreed. "When she was talking about McCain, there was a lot of emphasis, when she talked about her husband. We saw more non-verbals from the audience in regards to these issues than we saw from her."

Perhaps, Rodriguez suggested, Clinton just isn't one who uses her hands much while speaking. For example, "I noticed that she does something with her shoulders. Maybe that's how she emphasizes."

"One of the ways that we emphasize is by defying gravity," Navarro pointed out, "and our shoulders come up, or we stand on our toes. She does that a little bit. But that's so weak that we tend to miss it.

"Now, toward the end of her speech, we saw her hands come up and high and so forth. This is where emotion was truly there."

Rodriguez said she noticed Michelle Obama in the audience "pursing her lips a little bit" at times. Did that mean Michelle was as a little bit uncomfortable during Clinton's speech?

"It depends," Navarro replied, "on when you see her. I think a couple of times there when they were picturing her, perhaps she was thinking, 'This should be a little better' and so forth. (But) I think Michelle was very receptive. Her non-verbals actually were great at the beginning as she was, you know, you saw a lot of head tilt, which is indicative of 'I'm receptive,' and so forth."

Navarro was a big fan of Michelle's speech Monday night,

"I think it was a home run," Navarro observed. "She's a beautiful woman. You know, her hugs are genuine. She has those beautiful high cheek bones that we see in models. The broad shoulders. (She had a wide stance). Her gestures are huge. They are very encompassing. These things draw us in. These are the things we look for. Otherwise, just hand out a memo."

[ruserious7]

I am so ashamed to have spent the last several years as a loyal Morning Show viewer. I am certain that my jaw dropped open as I watched a story about the first serious female candidate for President reduced to a degrading examination of her body language by a former FBI agent. Did I really hear him say that Michelle Obama has great cheek bones....and she had on a very attractive dress? Senator Clinton received more votes than any other candidate of either party and Maggie Rodriquez''s and the "news" staff of CBS uses this as part of their coverage of her historic speech. Wow....you just lost a loyal viewer. It makes you wonder why the show with the revolving door of on air personalities continues to get it''s clock cleaned. I can''t wait for the coverage of the Republican convention. Doesn''t Mitt have really great hair?

[frankden1]

Maybe you can tell what a speaker really means by hand gestures. Well, you can also tell a newsgroup''s objectivity and political agenda by its reporting tactics. Last night, following Hillary''s speech, Katie concluded that Hillary missed the mark. She asked her on the scene analyst to corroborate her conclusion. He refused and said Hillary really delivered. OMG! dissention in the ranks. Not to worry. This AM, CBS fought back. They arranged an interview with an ex-FBI body language expert. He concluded that Hillary was insincere. Now we have the real story. OK, CBS. I get the point. You don''t like Hillary. So much for objectivity. And so much for CBS news. Is it any wonder your news ratings are the pits? Goodbye CBS news.

[vet_sk]

Sure Hillary meant it. We need a democrat in office so that the United States can start prospering again. Remember we are now a country that has so many presidential blocks on scientific research, the earth is warming (except for Limbaugh and Hannity) and we have supreme court just. to put on the bench.
They call Ruth Ginsburg some big liberal but in reality she was a person the Repubs gave to Clinton as an acceptable choice.

And the Commander in Chief test, Obama is far more prepared then McCain. He twice as smart and doesn''t think that war is the only answer but knows that sometimes it is the only but last option.

[sheemalhil]

HELL NO SHE DIDNT MEAN IT!

SHE UNLOADED 100 YEARS AND HER MISERABLE HEALTH CARE BAGGAGE ON HIM SO HE WILL FAIL HER LOFTY UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS BASED ON A PHONEY HEALTH CARE SYSEM OF RAT POISON DRUGS!

HILLARY AND BILL DONT LIKE ****** UNLESS THEY CAN MANIPULATE THEM, USE THEM, AND/OR LAUGH AT THEM!

WHAT A FAKEY COCKY NO-GOOD-FOR-NOTHING WHITTIE ARKANSAS CRACKER!!

[sheemalhil]

HELL NO SHE DIDNT MEAN IT!

SHE UNLOADED 100 YEARS AND HER MISERABLE HEALTH CARE BAGGAGE ON HIM SO HE WILL FAIL HER LOFTY UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS BASED ON A PHONEY HEALTH CARE SYSEM OF RAT POISON DRUGS!

HILLARY AND BILL DONT LIKE ****** UNLESS THEY CAN MANIPULATE THEM, USE THEM, AND/OR LAUGH AT THEM!

WHAT A FAKEY COCKY NO-GOOD-FOR-NOTHING WHITTIE ARKANSAS CRACKER!!

[sheemalhil]

HELL NO SHE DIDNT MEAN IT!

SHE UNLOADED 100 YEARS AND HER MISERABLE HEALTH CARE BAGGAGE ON HIM SO HE WILL FAIL HER LOFTY UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS BASED ON A PHONEY HEALTH CARE SYSEM OF RAT POISON DRUGS!

HILLARY AND BILL DONT LIKE ****** UNLESS THEY CAN MANIPULATE THEM, USE THEM, AND/OR LAUGH AT THEM!

WHAT A FAKEY COCKY NO-GOOD-FOR-NOTHING WHITTIE ARKANSAS CRACKER!!

[hologram5]

They only care about themselves and their pocketbooks, nothing more.

[zorar-2009]

The real point is does McCain mean it ..or he''s just another puppet for the $5,000,000 crowd with 7 homes or mores ...get real you GOP mental midgets!

[destardi]

Who give''s a rats behind if she meant it...

She''s trying to do the RIGHT THING, according to half of the lying dems.

OBAMA "won" (stole) the primary, so let HIM do all the work; it''s what he wanted, right?

Why should Hillary be smashed in the face repeatedly, then get stuck for pushing this sack of *** over the finish line? Remember how obama''s wins pretty much stopped midway in the Primary, after all those dirty caucuses?

NOBAMA! PUMA!

[destardi]

The real point is does McCain mean it ..or he''''s just another puppet for the $5,000,000 crowd with 7 homes or mores ...get real you GOP mental midgets!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by zorar at 09:30 AM : Aug 27, 2008
+ report abuse


HILLARIOUS!

Obama made 4,000,000 last year!!!!!

Who''s the "mental midget"?

I''m a liberal, but obama is no liberal.

Did you see his vote on FISA? On cheney''s energy bill?
Open to "offshore drilling"?!?

WAKE UP!!!!

[sleepyric]

Helll yes she meant it...don''t you hear to well? Talk about body language; how about when McCain jumps up and down and pounds his fist in the air like some puppet when he throws his little hissy fits....now THAT is body language. Angry, spiteful, little old man who thinks he is entitled to the presidency because he had the misfortune to be a POW. That''s all you hear from him.....I was a POW.....yadda yadda.....yeah, we know that already...

[vranger]

With all due regard to Vet below, of course she didn''t mean it. She just spent several months telling the world why Obama is not qualified to be President, and why if nominated he would be defeated by McCain.

Amusingly, she was right. Now she has to do her bit for the party, so she gritted her teeth and lied for them for a while. She''s used to doing that. LOL

Of course McCain is no sort of hawk. He has no record in the Senate of pushing for war. He did support the surge, and he was proven to be correct.

As for needing a Democrat in the White House for prosperity, you poor fools have been betrayed by them. The Democrat controlled Congress has sat on needed legislation for months, and in some cases years now, so that they could see things get worse during the election year and misdirect the blame. They have been quite happy to see Americans suffer so that they could have an election tactic.

For this, they deserve jail, not votes.

[zorar-2009]

Posted by destardi1 at 09:33 AM : Aug 27, 2008

I notice most people that say negative comments about Black or women are insecure about their own identities

[concerned222]

Hillary delivered the speech exceptionally well. We all knew that afterwards there would be those who didn''t believe her. I am sick to death of all the negativity in this world. Of course, she''s not happy that she was not chosen to run for the Presidency. No one is happy when they lose, but there are those that DO think of others. She is a democrat who is trying to put a democrat in the White House because the last 8 years have been terrible. I wish we could quit over-analyzing every speck and get on with it. Hillary should be given the praise she deserves. She received 18 million votes. Those 18 million people count for something. She did a historical thing and deserves credit. She''s not going to be our President. We will have to live with another man in the White House for now. One of these days, the American people will trust the fact that a woman CAN do the job and they might be surprised at how well.
It''s now time to stop blaming Hillary for all the ills of the world. How about shifting it to the men for a while (after all, they are the ones in office and running for office)?
And for CBS, unbiased reporting would be more appreciated- guess that''s not possible is it?

[vranger]

Ric,

I''ve watched many McCain speeches and debate appearances. I''ve only heard him mention his years as a POW when asked a question where the answer touched upon that experience. He does frequently mention his service and record in the Senate. Of course Obama has never served his country, either in the service or in the Senate. He''s sponsored no significant legislation, and has spent a significant percentage of his Senate career running for President or preparing to.

[sereptaann]

Heck no she didn''t mean it, what she really meant is I''m protecting my political future. She has said many times he is not qualified, etc etc etc. I am disappointed, I wanted her to stand up for the people who voted for her, not a party that kicked her to the curb. I don''t have to be loyal to a party, so this vote will go to McCain!

[libra127]

Of COURSE she meant it!! She desperately wants to see a Democrat in the White House and has worked her heart out to try to make that happen.

She gave a magnificent speech last night and CBS publishes a ridiculous article nitpicking about her hand gestures !

We''ll look forward to a similar article analyzing John McCain''s body language. Yeah, right.

[no_nonesense]

The Early Show delivered the final straw this morning when it used Joe Navarro to give a moment by moment analysis of Hilary Clinton''s body language. I did not support Clinton for President, but I respect her. Frankly, I''m sick of the news media''s infantile nitpicking, and their constant attempt to tell the stupid public what to think, how to feel about it, and its leadership in teaching us how to be nitpicking, whinny, critic bullies. I have refused to listen to most of the political happenings because I could not tolerate the nonsense of the news media and its attempt to own my mind. You people are a disgrace to what NEWS should be. You people look grownup, but your body language and your dialogue paint a different picture.

[gigglebox829]

I was appalled at the Joe Navarro segment this morning. It was so obviously meant as a Republican put-down of the DNC disguised as "analysis". The level of Hillary''s enthusiasm is dictated by whether or not she waves her arms enough? Is he kidding or just stupid? Talking about Michelle Obama''s cheekbones and dress? Will they be discussing men''s cheekbones and suits at the RNC as a measure of their enthusiasm and support? I seriously doubt it. CBS, you embarrassed yourself once again - we won''t even go into Katie Couric and Dan Bartlett last night on the evening news. I''m done w/CBS once and for all. What a FARCE!

[msay3]

Jay Leno on the experience of the presidential candidates.....McCain has 35 years. Between them both they have 36 years...

[stn_sage]

Given a choice between McINSANE and Obama, I think she''d pick Obama, but she''s NOT happy about it, obviously!

Well, that''s OK, because a lot of us aren''t happy with the choices!

But, if she really expected him to give her the VP position, than she and her husband should have ''put on happy faces'' and done everything they could to ''mend fences'' and work for the ticket! Instead, since the end of the primary, both continue to make these somewhat derogatory, less than supportive statements about him! If I was him, after that, I wouldn''t want her as VP, either!

Just like the primary, the VP selection was hers to lose, and she did!

[b0ludo]

Let''s see if I can follow this chain of events:

*Bush inherits from Clinton the .com bomb.
*World Trade Center dropped in retaliation for Clinton''s failed attempt to kill Osama Bin Laden.
*The economy tanks for a year but eventually improves and the Dow breaks 13K.
*Democrats and Republicans agree to go kick Iraq''s teeth in.
*Democrats decide it was a bad idea and now poo-poo the idea, claiming they were lied to.
*Democrats take control of Congress.
*Economy goes to doo-doo.
*Oil goes stratospheric on Obama''s friends buying up oil futures (Arabian Peninsula and Venezuelan buds who need a Muslim in office).
*The Republicans are to blame for inflation and unemployment caused by above.
*Obama wins in November
*Oil drops to $55 in December
*Obama hailed as savior in January.

Got it.

[kirstinharr]

Without Hillary on the ticket (and with Biden in the wrong place on the ticket--he''s too experienced to play second fiddle to such an inexperienced politician as Obama) I will vote for McCain. Read the Senate votes. Pay attention fellow Dems. Clinton and McCain are both centrist politicians who unite both parties. They can reach across the aisle and get things done. Obama is not only incredibly inexperienced, he''s too far left to bring about unity and, with it, change.

[dnsallday]

I think it was one of the best speeches I have ever heard Hillary give and it was the first time I ever saw a reason why so many people supported her.
Although I think we would be better off with women in the White House I could not support Hillary for one reason because she campaigned like the RepubliCON Artists that we now have in the white house. Sleazy an lying straight out to the American people. To me nothing shows less respect and is more dishonorable (which is only one reason a RepubliCON will never get my vote).......................

I don''t think it was a concession speech, on the part of Hillary. I don''t think she has ever stopped running for President and I shudder to think what she is doing behind the scenes with some of her supporters.

[wakeup365]

SHE WAS GREAT AND SHE MADE A BELEIVER OUT OF ME. SO, I WILL VOTE FOR OBAMA.ALL THE REPUBLICANS DO IS USE SCARE TATICS AND ATTACK. WHERE IS THEIR PLAN, ANY KIND OF PLAN FOR AMERICA. THE REPUBLICANS HAVE f*cked THIS COUNTRY UP.

[b0ludo]

kirstin: Obama scares many of us who have seen and lived what drastic change to the left has done to the lives of all who had to suffer through it. Will we go along with a communist U.S.S.A? With a Democratically controlled congress, we may not realize it until it is too late.

[incog-nito]

This is just one person''s view. You can always find an "expect" to support any opinion you want. Hillary was never an animated speaker to begin. I have always thought that was one weakness. If Hillary did not want to support Obama she would not have given the speech she did, pure and simple.

[incog-nito]

Correction: "Expert", not "expect".

[dnsallday]

I''''ve watched many McCain speeches and debate appearances. I''''ve only heard him mention his years as a POW when asked a question where the answer touched upon that experience.
******************************************************** HUH, listen a little more carefully. He is like Giuliani where every question lends itself to an answer that somehow manages to tie into 9/11.
McCain and his campaign have trivialized his experience as a POW and have dishonored all the other men who were POW''s at the same time as McCAin and had it a lot worse than he did.

Being a POW is not an accomplishment........It is something he endured........It does not demonstrate leadership abilities, it does not demonstrate good judgement and it does not demonstrate any concern for the American people and it makes it questionable whether the man is mentally fit for the highest office in the land.

[b0ludo]

truth: The difference was that McCain stayed with his brothers in arms, when he could easily have done what his captors asked of him (a couple of movies denouncing the U.S.) and left in the next plane. This is information we get from those who were in the Hanoi Hilton with him, not from McCain. He was the son of the Naval Commander of the Pacific fleet. He could have been flying a desk in Guam, but he chose to fly into enemy controlled territory, chock full of the SAM batteries Jane Fonda posed on. You may not like him as a politician, although he is about as far to the left as I have ever seen a Republican, even agreeing with women''s right to choose whether to keep their baby or not, but please don''t demean his actions during his active duty service to this great nation of ours.

[kirstinharr]

B0ludo, I''m a loyal Democrat. I was privileged to host the Hillary campaign workers in my Texas home for 10 days before the primary in that state. Bill Clinton is a flawed human being but he did some great things for this country after 4 years of Bush. I was hopeful that Team Clinton could fix some of the mess 8 years of another Bush have created for the working class in this country. I cannot, under any circumstances, vote for Obama. He''s not my kind of Democrat but, much more importantly, he is not ready for the job. The question I keep asking myself is "why" is he the candidate of the party?? That first Dem debate--think of the experienced folks on that stage. How did we get to this place where the least experienced person is the nominee? How stupid are we? Does Hollywood anoint Presidents these days? It''s like I''m living in a science fiction movie. No idea how anyone so unqualified was selected as the nominee. McCain is not perfect but I trust his judgment and know he has learned a great deal from his years of service. Lesser of evils and all that...simply no good choices so do the best possible under the circumstances.

[kirstinharr]

Willy:

If Obama accomplishes even 10 percent of the promises he''s made, he will tax us to DEATH. When will the American public learn that politicians will say ANYTHING to get elected. Obama is promising everything to everyone. He has no idea the challenges in front of him. We owe China more money than our great-great grandchildren can repay. The deep mess we''re in will require incredible experience to resolve. Obama doesn''t have it. Period.

[mycommentspg]

Navarro appears to be very weak in ability to read people. Hillary supporters should vote for McCain.

[incog-nito]

People keep mentioning "experience" and being "ready for the job" as a requirement for the presidency. Was Bill Clinton ready when he took office? Was Bush experienced? These are vague notions that you can define to suit your purposes, especially if it''s for an excuse not to vote for someone. Personally I would look at the person''s CAPACITY and JUDGMENT, rather than simply being around long enough.

[heuristic1]

The media insists on turning Hillary%u2019s gracious endorsement of Obama into a sow%u2019s ear. First they speculated as to whether she would support Obama at all. Then whether she would do so without many time consuming conditions and restrictions. But low and behold, she has done so with open armed generosity. So what does the press do? They go after her %u201Cbody language.%u201D Why don%u2019t they go after McCain%u2019s body language and a lot more that is damning to HIS candidacy? Obama and the Democrats are getting some of the crummiest press treatment I%u2019ve ever seen. They will regret it if it helps put McCain in the White House.

[heuristic1]

''''If the sow''''s ear fits, wear it.'''' - StLouisMan3
===========================
========================
It only fits for the Hillary haters like you.

[whitemale08]

Hillary was a hero last night!!!

THX Hillary!!!

[timothyone-2009]

Did Hillary Mean It??????? ***?
Does CBS believe Hillary is LYING? That IS the implication of the question!
EXPERTS? What kind of quackery is this?? Will this EXPERTS testimony stand in ANY court of law? Does this type of testimony have any standing ANYWHERE?
CBS has fallen a long damned way, a loooong damned way!

[cathaleen]

No way . She should be the Pres nominee. She won the biggest states. How can Obama possibly win. The democrats must be sipping cool-aid.

[barbaraf4]

Why does it matter if Hillary meant it? She said it and now she can go home and divorce Bill.

[a-ji]

No one can tell. Only she and she alone know if she means it.

[samthetvcat]

---"Body language expert and former FBI agent Joe Navarro says he doesn''t think so."---

Yeah . . . but Hillary was masterful at it such that Obama supporters thought it was sincere, and Hillary supporters saw enough doubt not to be swayed.

If her goal was to steal front-runner of the future status from Mark Warner I think she knocked it out of the park!

[tejasdemo]

Rofl....Only one question needs to asked here.

Ummm, Mr. Ex-FBI agent, did you vote Republican or Democrat in the last election ??

Remember Mr. Ex-FBI agent...you must tell the truth now ...

Lol

[hawksprings]

"Rofl....Only one question needs to asked here.
Ummm, Mr. Ex-FBI agent, did you vote Republican or Democrat in the last election ??
Remember Mr. Ex-FBI agent...you must tell the truth now ..."
Lol
Posted by tejasdemo

Exactly Mr. tejasdemo.

A most excellent post.

[aboz3]

I wonder how McCain would fair with a body language expert???

[cbs_tom]

From listening to different radio host that were present in Denver, when Hillary gave her speech, there was almost an atmosphere of "we selected the wrong candidate". Did anyone notice the look on Michelle Obama''s face?

[brianbwb-2009]

The most important words Mrs. Clinton said were "No how, no way, no McCain", and it was pretty clear that she meant those words, all the other talk was basically filler, and pumping up the crowd, which she hasn''t been known to be adept at, or comfortable with.

Had she exchanged speeches with Dennis Kucinich, we''d already be hearing the death knell of the Republican party, his fired up speech has been the high point so far of the convention, and the one with the least coverage.

It would be a shoo-in if Mr. Obama can deliver the fire that Mr. Kucinich did, hitting hard on the failed policies of the current administration, linking McSame to them, and a few specifics on how he would take steps to reverse the current trend.

[horse3farm]

Yesterday I completed a CBS survey about their website. When asked why I don''t watch CBS news, my response was.."I don''t like Katie Couric."

Thank you CBS for proving how stupid Katie really is.

[cbs_tom]

"Yes, and so to make up for it, elect the wrong person for President and be the little bigot you are and vote McCain".
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 11:37 AM : Aug 27, 2008
Nancy, I am not a McCain advocate. I was only stating an observance. Also, far from being a bigot! trust me...

[brianbwb-2009]

"Did anyone notice the look on Michelle Obama''''s face?"
Posted by cbs_tom

More importantly, does anyone care? Her husband just survived a bruising battle with one of the most clever political marketing teams in history, the Clintons, in which the "n-word" hovered just beneath the surface. Anyone expecting Mr. Obama''s wife to be all starry-eyed, like a Clinton cheerleader, as if nothing at all passed between them, is deluded.