Barack Obama had it.  John McCain did not.

     Jennifer Granholm has it in abundance while none of her two challengers even came close.

     We're not talking about money, innovative ideas, or even brains.  Nope, it's the c-word: Charisma.

     Seems you can't go anywhere in politics these days without it and TV is to blame.  TV news coverage of office seekers is so thin in content, that the only thing that shines through the tube is the personality and whether it sparkles or just lies there.

      Think the aforementioned Mr. McCain.

       It was not always thus.   Forty years ago it was an accepted practice for candidates to issue White Papers.  These were in-depth dissertations on their view on the economy, war, energy, you name it. 

       Now the only white paper you see is the T.P. in a candidate's commode.

       In a candidate forum the other night sponsored by FOX2, the MIRS newsletter and the Michigan Education Association, you had Lt. John Cherry on the stage.

       He waxed on and on about what the Granholm administration has done about jobs. (Please, however, ignore the 10.6% jobless rate on its way to 12%.) And at the very end, the anchor tossed out one final question: On a scale of one to ten, what is your charisma score?

        To be charitable to John Cherry, who's named is often mixed up with the Hockey Night in Canada Cherry, to be charitable, h e does not exactly knock your socks off.  He has lost 55 pounds and is getting down to running-for-governor weight, but you know Jennifer Granholm and Mr. Cherry is no Jennifer Granholm.

        Yet he was not bashful about awarding himself a nine.  And then he laughed, the anchor laughed, and the audience, who had seen his act, joined in.

        He gets one white lie per campaign, and he just used his up.

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