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The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

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POLITICAL TELLS<br />

seven-minute mile, which puts him in the first or second<br />

percentile in the fitness rankings for men <strong>of</strong> his age. You<br />

can see that Bush is fit from his build and from the way he<br />

walks, although there's a strong suggestion <strong>of</strong> artifice in his<br />

gait because he doesn't have the muscles to warrant the<br />

body-builder's lope that he's cultivated. Nevertheless,<br />

Bush's walking style sends a very clear signal <strong>of</strong><br />

masculinity to the electorate. It can also unnerve people<br />

who meet him. This happened when Prime Minister Tony<br />

Blair met President Bush at Camp David in 2002. <strong>The</strong><br />

television news footage showed the two leaders walking<br />

together, Bush casually dressed in a leather bomber jacket,<br />

and Blair in an open-necked shirt. Bush is striding<br />

presidentially, with his arms pronated and extended away<br />

from his body, and his hands relaxed and facing backwards<br />

- just like a body-builder. Not to be outdone, but<br />

not wanting to mimic his host, Blair strolls along with his<br />

hands casually tucked into his trouser pockets - something<br />

he never does in public! Here Bush has clearly upped the<br />

ante in the masculinity stakes and Blair has tried to match<br />

him. By tucking his hands into his pockets Blair is trying to<br />

show that he's also tough and relaxed, but that he's not<br />

prepared to play Tonto to Bush's Lone Ranger.<br />

Defensive <strong>Tells</strong><br />

In <strong>The</strong> Prince (1532), his famous treatise on politics,<br />

Machiavelli observed that 'men rise from one ambition to<br />

another; first they secure themselves from attack, and then<br />

they attack others'. <strong>The</strong> threat to politicians can come from<br />

other political parties, the electorate or the media. It can<br />

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