Rhetorical style: Rudy Giuliani has the most distinctive verbal repertoire—his language is active, assured, and full of references to himself. His message is that he's going to personally lead you (high activity) and he's going in this direction and no other direction (high certainty). It adds up to a take-charge kind of guy.
Body language: "Giuliani uses over-the-top gestures to excellent effect and always seems to enjoy being a politician," says Pease. "Whereas McCain uses mainly one solitary gesture at a time, Rudy uses four or five expressions to do the same. He could be in showbiz." Patti Ann Wood adds that Giuliani often does a tongue thrust, where the tongue comes out briefly from the mouth. "He does this when he talks about the presidential administration, which shows disrespect," she explains.
Self-definition: The crisis manager. Giuliani wants you to know he was mayor during 9/11, he wants you to know he was a prosecutor, and he wants you to know he's "a kid from Brooklyn"—in other words, not a person born of privilege.
Emotional tone: Though Giuliani refers to himself more than the other candidates, he also frequently mentions other people. His language is the most feminine of all the candidates—meaning he uses relatively few concrete examples and considers other people's perspectives. This may reflect his treatment for prostate cancer, which can block testosterone production and feminize people's language and cause them
to make more references to others (e.g., more pronouns, references to friends, social communication). He rarely uses concrete nouns, instead working to make connections with others.
Political values: Giuliani's speeches emphasize conservative values, praising freedom and order but neglecting equality. Giuliani dwells on crime, as in, "We inflicted the kind of damage on organized crime that had never been inflicted before."
Universal values: Giuliani values universalism and social justice, and places the highest value on true friendship, talking often about "very good, worthy men" and "very good friends." He's the only candidate to place emphasis on hedonism, as when he talks about "the right to be able to enjoy our city." Giuliani's value hierarchy is striking in that it resembles those of the Democratic candidates much more than those of his Republican rivals.
Handwriting: "Tall capitals and inclusion of the middle initial in Rudy Giuliani's signature suggest intense pride," says Lowe. "The heavy, slashed dots on the letter i are firm and resolute and many firm downstrokes indicate a lot of determination, an unyielding person whose mind is not easily changed." Dresbold agrees. "These bold, precise dots show that Giuliani is intense, driven, and detail-oriented," she says. "And the angularity of his handwriting shows that Giuliani can take care of business and can be tough when he needs to be."
John McCain
Exemplary quote: "Chaos will ensue, genocide will take place, and unlike after we lost the Vietnam War, these people want to follow us home. I think that what's at stake here is this entire struggle we're in... against radical Islamic extremism."
Subtext: John McCain's angry, highly negative style could alienate voters.
Rhetorical style: Compared to the other candidates, McCain rarely mentions his own life experience during policy discussions. He has a restrained, formal, less folksy style. There's not a lot there for people to find out who he is. McCain also has the highest space/time ratio—the extent to which a person refers to geographical matters (Iraq, the region, home) compared to references to time (this morning, the future, the '50s). For him, this campaign is about Iraq and the United States. This stands to reason since he's focusing on issues of the homeland.
Body language: McCain is the least emotive of the candidates, lacking full body movement, variation of voice and gestures, and overall energy, says Wood. Of course, he has health problems that may circumscribe his movements—or perhaps it's his attempt at gravitas. His facial and mouth gestures, say Pease, range from teeth baring (attack) to bottom-lip pouting (disdain) and smiling only on one side of his face (skepticism). "He typically holds onto the podium," says Driver, "as if he is saying, 'I need some more support here!' "
Self-definition: "I'm not the youngest candidate, but I am the most experienced." This is McCain's way of blunting the charge that he's too old. It also highlights his wartime service without mentioning it directly, which could seem like bragging.
Emotional tone: McCain expresses a lot of positive, high-energy emotions (using words such as exciting, wonderful, hopeful, great), and people are drawn to his dynamic personality. But he also expresses many negative emotions, using a lot of anger words (upset, angry, frustrated)—which may catch up with him if he isn't careful. His words are low in immediacy, which means they tend not to focus as much on the present, instead focusing on the past (e.g., Vietnam) or the future (e.g., where he wants the country to go).
Political values: McCain is the least ideological Republican, talking little about order. He stresses freedom often—second only to Romney. Otherwise, his keyword profile is closer to Clinton's and Obama's than to those of his fellow Republicans.
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