Forget About the Debates: Which Candidate Would You Rather Share a Beer With?

Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin made news when she decided to make an appearance at a Philadelphia bar just before tonight’s presidential debate. The bar she chose? The Irish Pub, located off of posh Rittenhouse Square. In Philly, you’d probably know the bar – as we do – as a hang out for grad students. Interesting choice, if you ask me.

But the point was not so much the actual venue as the idea of the venue: a bar. Much like the attempts made by prior presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee, showing up at a bar is somehow supposed to make you feel like a candidate is “one of us.” But does it work? Of course it does. In the last presidential election, George W. Bush consistently topped the polls over John Kerry when asked, “Who would you rather have a beer with?”

Why does it matter? While it’s true that you may not want your drinking buddy to run the country, many voters do vote on personality, not issues. We want a “common man” (or woman) – someone that we can feel comfortable with. The question is then, who will that be? Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?

(Author’s note: The inclusion of Obama, above, was not meant to imply an endorsement. I was unable to find a single, legal image of McCain drinking, or in proximity to, a beer.)