Trivia

The husband and I had an argument over the new President of the United States today morning (as if there wasn’t anything more important closer home). The husband felt that there was too much noise around the swearing in this time around. According to him, while it is really commendable for an Afro-American to occupy the highest post of office in the US of A, the man should be measured only by the performance that he brings to the table.

All the noise around the person, according to him is unjustified, unless he is given enough time to prove his mettle. He feels that empty words and being glib is just not enough, unless he can fructify all that he has promised. If for some reason, his action doesn’t measure up to his words, all the noise that surrounds him, and the frenzy that he is associated with today, will become so much more painful.

However, I am all swept by the charisma of the person, the wiry frame, the enigmatic smile and the vibrancy and exuberance that he exudes. I am completely bought by his glib, his recounting of his personal life, his family persona , his everyday normal guy attitude and images of him swaying to music (have we seen any other President clapping and swaying to music before??)

I guess this is the basic difference between the man and the wife. While the husband is all practical and will measure a person only by his actions, the emotional, gullible fool in me will be easily swept by anything charismatic and pleasant to the eye.

In a completely different note, I was wondering, if being glib and a good public speaker was the only criteria to become a successful mass leader. Who would then qualify for the post in India?

My choice was Farhan Akhtar, to which the husband totally freaked out. He felt that even if we did agree with my misplaced logic and superficial qualifiers, Vinod Dua would be a much better choice. (Sometimes, I wonder how two people could be so different and still be man and wife)

We also disagreed about the need to be wiry to be a charismatic person. According to me, you need to have a lean and athletic body to exude energy and confidence (oh, how perverse I can be….), while to him, body weight is irrelevant in the scheme of things. As a justification, he cited the example of Winston Churchill, whom he feels was one of the most charismatic leaders in modern history.

Guess, ours is a match of two different personalities trying to lead a life together…the husband says we are like the chalk and cheese…I am happy to assume that I am the cheese here J.