#Bootgate: Sometimes the Small Things are Big

(no pun intended)

For several weeks Trumpsters and MAGA Tweeters have been poking fun at Governor Ron DeSantis’s boots. First it was mainly focusing on the incongruity of boots and a suit—-a look that few people outside of J.R. Ewing could pull off.

Then, however, many began to focus on whether the Governor had lifts in his boots—-some of that derived from his odd way of walking (I just assumed maybe he’d had a knee or hip injury in the past). But as more and more questions came up about whether or not he used lifts, podcasters began to question him on it. DeSantis’s seeming inability to give a straight answer generated even more inquiry and comment.

First, strange as it may sound, with a few exceptions, most successful presidential candidates had two physical characteristics. First, they had more hair than the other candidate. (In each characteristic, we have to exclude incumbents as they had an advantage). But think Kennedy over Nixon, Johnson/Goldwater a tie, Nixon over Humphrey, Nixon over McGovern, Carter over Ford, Reagan over Carter and Mondale, GHWB over Dukakis,, Clinton over GHWB, tie with W and Gore, Obama—-with African American hair being different, not applicable—-and Trump over Cankles.

The second characteristic sometimes overshadowed (no pun intended again) the first: the winner was usually taller. Nixon/JFK a tie; LBJ/Goldwater a tie, Nixon over Humphrey and tied with McGovern, Reagan over Carter and Mondale, GHWB over Dukakis, Clinton and GHWB a tie, Clinton over Dole, W and Algore a Tie, Obama over McCain, and Trump over Cankles. Again, in some cases the incumbency nullified the taller John Kerry in 2004 or Mitt Romney in 2012. The point is, while there may be no hard and fast rule about either, there is something to the height thing.

So now, using photographic evidence, one analyst agreed that DeSantis was wearing lifts. This has led to Twti-chatter generally hashtagged #Bootgate, and has become so damaging that even the Washington Compost felt obliged to write about it.

To say that such fluff should be irrelevant to a political campaign may reflect a fervent wish among some—-maybe most. But the reality is that non-issue stuff always intrudes as a short cut (no pun intended again) to making broader candidate assessments. For example, in 1988 Michael Dukakis probably put a stake through the heart of his campaign with a stupid-looking photo of him in an oversized tanker helmet inside a tank. Rush Limbaugh labeled him “Beetle Baily,” and it stuck. What impact it had no one knows but absolutely it because a meme of its own. Shorthand? Dukakis was so out of place with the military he looked like a fool and could not be trusted with the nuke codes.

In the 2012 campaign, the news surfaced that Mitt Romney (Minion) had traveled in his car with a dog crate strapped to the roof. Message? If this is how this guy treats his dog, how will he treat the USA?

Just a few years earlier, Vermont governor Howard Dean ended his career with one crazed yell of “Yeaaaaaggghhh.”

Gerald Ford likely lost the presidency in a debate with Jesus Carter when he forgot that Poland was occupied by the USSR.

These are relatively minor things. But they have enormous shorthand significance for voters who on the whole don’t take much time to read news, analysis, or opinion pieces. For DeSantis, the take away from anyone watching a clip of him will be to immediately look at this boots and try to determine if he’s wearing lifts. If he is, the predictable conclusion is that he is insecure and lies about his height. What else does he lie about? Contrast that with Donald Trump inviting talk show host Jimmy Fallon to muss up his hair.

Thomas Sowell, among others, has written extensively about the “shorthand” involved in discrimination, but it applies to all aspects of life. “I just don’t like him” or “she’s a bitch” may be unfair and completely wrong conclusions we derive from extremely limited exposure to people. Nevertheless, it’s what we humans do. DeSantis is about to find out that he has come up short in being candid about his height.

Larry Schweikart

Rock drummer, Film maker, NYTimes #1 bestselling author

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