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."

[sharednotion]

I''m skeptical of exagerated claims of anyone''s ability to read body language. Yes, we all read body language every day even if we''re not aware of it (such as when we speak to a person who we know, but then sense that their body language seems to be saying, "I''m kind of busy right now; could you speak to me later?") But, to "read body language" in such detail to conclude that Hillary Clinton wasn''t sincere in praising Obama at the convention, well, maybe that''s accurate. OR, maybe it''s hard for ANY serious presidential contender to make a speech that concedes that someone else is now the nominee. There can be a NUMBER of different possible meanings to a speaker''s posture at the podium. I don''t believe any "expert" has a crystal ball to be so sure.

[jonhenry51]

Sen.Obama''s description of the Bush administrations "Yoyo" economics really got me thinking. I''m starting to agree with him. I''m a registered Republican, but am really starting to think maybe the change we need to secure our future and the future of our children is embraced more by the Democrats than the Republicans.

Yoyo economics = You''re on your own
JMHO

[jonhenry51]

Sen.Obama''s description of the Bush administrations "Yoyo" economics really got me thinking. I''m starting to agree with him. I''m a registered Republican, but am really starting to think maybe the change we need to secure our future and the future of our children is embraced more by the Democrats than the Republicans.

Yoyo economics = You''re on your own
JMHO

[aaabee-2009]

I hope you are financially secure and retired, because if you have a job and a budget, in two years you''''re going to be under a LOT of pressure if Obama is elected ... if you still even have that job.
Posted by vranger at 10:12 PM : Aug 27, 2008

...and here is the psychic, right on cue.

Future predicting wastes America''s time.

Future predicting muddies the water with speculation while real issues get ignored.

Future predictions of Obama doom and gloom is just the Right working furiously to keep America in fear.

Just Say No to Fear!

:)

[aaabee-2009]

Sheesh, what next? Getting a psychic to come on national news to say that "telepathically" Clinton didn''t mean it?

National news is wasting America''s time!

Serious issues taking a back seat to this kind of reporting is wasting America''s time!

Keeping America enflamed about Hillary is wasting America''s time.

[erb0087]

Did Hillary Mean It?

Yes. She could have pulled a Joe Lieberman, and run as an independent, if she didn"t.

Body language ? I"ll just stick to tea leaves.

[boycot-china]

NO WAY! NO HOW! SENATOR CLINTON SAID DO NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA. HE IS A RACIST! HE''S ANTI-MILITARY! HE''S THE MOST INEXPERIENCED SENATOR THAT WE HAVE! WHAT BILLS DID HE EVER SPONSOR WITHOUT SOMEONE SLSE HELP?

[tiredofthebs]

Of course, she didn''''t mean it. This is simple: if Obama wins in November, Hillary will almost certainly never get an opportunity to run for the presidency. If Obama is defeated by McCain, McCain will be 76 years old when he runs for reelection in 2012. Hillary will be a shoo in for the Democratic nomination in 2012. What could be simpler? If you want to see Hillary Clinton president, you must elect McCain. If you want to doom Hillary to not ever having a chance to be president, vote for Obama. Ignore what she and her husband said at the convention. They had to say what they did so the Democratic Party won''''t hold them liable for a McCain victory.

Posted by AmJoe at 10:06 PM : Aug 27, 2008

I gotta say it again?! Of course she meant it. For $30,000,000 I''d sport on OBAMA t-shirt!!

Hillary 2012

[closethippy1]

I hope you are financially secure and retired, because if you have a job and a budget, in two years you''re going to be under a LOT of pressure if Obama is elected ... if you still even have that job.
Posted by vranger at 10:12 PM : Aug 27, 2008

A lot of pressure as compared to what??? The mortgage crisis? The credit crisis? The recession bordering on depression brought on by Bush and his "I couldn''t care less" ilk???
How much worse can Obama, or any other person be?
I swear, I we were to pick up an illegal alien and make him the President of the United States of America I''m more than sure that he, or she, would make a much better president than Bush, or any of his psycho followers.

[vranger]

"I think we will all be quite pleased with the change to our political and financial systems that will be brought in by President Obama."

Yes, we''d have all the same benefits as the last President to talk like him, Jimmy Carter. He left a wonderful legacy after a turn at his naive ''ideals'' ... emboldened terrorists ... double digit inflation ... almost double digit unemployment ... 17% prime rates ... and he didn''t even try to shoehorn socialized medicine in at the same time.

I hope you are financially secure and retired, because if you have a job and a budget, in two years you''re going to be under a LOT of pressure if Obama is elected ... if you still even have that job.

[closethippy1]

I have travelled the world over and I have to say I''ve never seen this kind of obsession about every bit of what politicians do and say as I''ve seen in the US.
This is not only pathetic but it''s almost pathological.
It''s truly amazing, and depressing, to see Americans work themselves into a frenzy about things that in the end really don''t matter.
It''s like everyone has lost the ability to view things in perspective, to make sure they''re looking at the entire forrest instead of obsessing about a leaf on a tree.
And all of this is done so the media can get your attention. To them it doesn''t matter the damage they''re doing to your psyche by getting you worried about the smallest thing. Oh, no, they''re in the business to make money any way possible so they can pay their rent, or mortgage, or boat payments.
I would think that by now after all Americans have been through they''re a bit wiser and not allow the media, and other corporations, to use them like toilet paper.
What a paradox to see children grow up so fast these days and yet see their parents behave like children hiding under the covers so afraid of the monster under the bed.

[gentoab]

Can somebody please tell me why people in this country cannot differentiate between supporting our troops vs not supporting bad policies that send them in harm''s way.Mccain seem''s to mention success of the SURGE to almost every question that is asked of Iraq. If i remember correctly, the main reason for this surge was to bring neccesitate a political reconciliation in Iraq. How is that a success when all these factions are so far apart but only close when it comes to the common theme of our ending the occupation? The unintended benefit is our troops doing well in what they are trained to do.Win battles. So the next time McCain opens his trap,someone please remind him the goal has not been achieved. He lacks a political distinction form that of the military.

[gentoab]

If Obama does not win, how many of his supporters would join the 18mil HRC supporters whennot if she runs again?

[tiredofthebs]

Did she mean it? Knowing how good she is at lying, how sore she gets at losing, and how she is used to getting her way, I would say not.

Posted by jankebenz at 09:21 PM : Aug 27, 2008


Like I said earlier ..... of course she meant it. For $30,000,000 I''d sport on OBAMA t-shirt!!

Hillary 2012

[jankebenz]

Did she mean it? Knowing how good she is at lying, how sore she gets at losing, and how she is used to getting her way, I would say not.

[p5e0428]

WHY DO THE OBAMAS ALWAYS GET A PASS. MICHELLE LOOKED PISSED POINT BLANK. I LOVE HILLARY BUT SHE DID NOT IN ANYWAY POINT TO ANY QUALITIES OF OBAMAS. INSTEAD SHE SAID WHAT THEY WANTED HER SAY WHICH WAS TO ENDORSE OBAMA!!!!

[Meg003]

There is a charming photo of Michelle Obama with a powerful group of black women including Mrs. Farakhan at the conference where Michelle Obama is alleged to have made her "whitey" rant speech.

[tiredofthebs]

Then HRC''''s speech will ultimately be given an F and as for leadership--the failure of her supporters to follow her lead means she gets an F in leadership too. Bet on this being used if she EVER tries to run for anything again--but why should it matter to you guys? You never supported HRC--you just did not support the other guy. That is apparent by your failure to help retire her debt and your failure to listen to her. LOL

Posted by toldyouso12 at 08:59 PM : Aug 27, 2008

If Obama asked you to jump off a bridge ...... would you?! So much for your analogy!

[tiredofthebs]

Nobody ever HAS to cough up a dime--but sincere people usually put their money where their mouth is. A lot of griping, whining and complaining and condemning from the HRC camp--they even want her to run as an Independent--on what? Promises? When push came to shove, each of her supporters could not even get up off of 1.67--about the price of an egg mcmuffin or a 2 liter of Pepsi. That says a lot about that support. HRC will be the scapegoat for the DNC if Obama loses--she already was the scapegoat and excuse for those supporters in her crowd who dared not admit that they are racists who''''d rather vote for anyone that vote for the person whose agenda was very similar to hers.

Not even 1.67....not that you HAVE to--but given the professed love and loyalty to her--surprising you people do not seem to WANT to.

Posted by toldyouso12 at 08:57 PM : Aug 27, 2008


Like I said, Obama & the DNC has got it covered. Racist? I''m a 34 year old BLACK man. I spend more than $1.67 on cigars! I feel the DNC owes Hillary and so does Barack! They wanted this STATE SENATOR with lofty ambitions to get the nomination. Well, he got it. Now pay up! Do you really believe Obama/Biden has a chance in November?

[toldyouso12]

Not very effective at all. NO WAY, NO HOW, NO OBAMA!

Posted by TiredoftheBS at 08:56 PM : Aug 27, 2008


Then HRC''s speech will ultimately be given an F and as for leadership--the failure of her supporters to follow her lead means she gets an F in leadership too. Bet on this being used if she EVER tries to run for anything again--but why should it matter to you guys? You never supported HRC--you just did not support the other guy. That is apparent by your failure to help retire her debt and your failure to listen to her. LOL