Cuddling with babies or children may look nice but it's not an indicator of leadership

[Uncle Joe]

compassion, empathy or temperament.

I believe one only needs to view the entire video on the link to get my point.


https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/09/04/crying-baby-bernie-sanders-moos-pkg-vpx.cnn

[hlthe2b]

1. Children seem to know a "good person" from not-- but not as much as dogs do...

Still, beyond Trump, there may be a few others I'd not want my dog to come close to in order to test... (though not those among our Democratic field, for sure)

[Hoyt]

2. Yelling at them to shut up, isn't either.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Bernie wasn't yelling at no baby to "shut up," I believe any fair and logical minded adult

would know that he was speaking to the child's parents or guardians to "quiet" or remove him/her from the room.

[NurseJackie]

6. No parent needs to be publicly humiliated in that way. The parent already knew....

No parent needs to be publicly humiliated in that way. The parent already knew that all eyes (and ears) were on them. I can assure you that they were already looking for the nearest exist. The whole thing of being called-out like that was cringe-worthy and completely unnecessary.

[Thekaspervote]

11. Yup!! Do ya suppose bernie still has the parents vote?

[vsrazdem]

4. LOL. Suffice it to say that I am sure more than half the parents in America are guilty of this.

[NurseJackie]

5. Ooo! Clearly, a very sensitive nerve has been struck.

Cuddling with babies or children may look nice but it's not an indicator of leadership compassion, empathy or temperament.

Ooo! Clearly, a very sensitive nerve has been struck. Because NOBODY has made that argument. NOBODY has said such a thing.

What IS an indication of someone's temperament and patience is their ability to behave in a way that ACTUALLY shows patience and understanding when the unexpected happens. What is an indicator of leadership is whenever I see a candidate who is humble enough to be able to find the humor in something like that, and whether they can get the crowd to laugh along with him (or her) rather than making them to recoil in disgust at the display of impatience and trying to publicly call-out and humiliate the parent.

Trust me, every parent KNOWS that all eyes are on them whenever their infant is crying loudly. At an intimate event like that one, I have little doubt that the parent was already looking for the nearest exist WITHOUT having to be publicly shamed. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and it confirmed many of the things that I've observed over the years.

All I'm trying to say is that this IS an indicator of how if someone is quick to anger, or if they can't find the humor in an everyday and harmless distraction, there will be many missed opportunities. It's an example of not being able to think on one's feet... not being able to gracefully handle the unexpected. These things reveal much about a candidate... no matter who he or she is... and no matter how he or she is doing in the polls.

[Uncle Joe]

7. I know of no politician or political leader that takes their job more seriously

than Bernie Sanders.

Town halls are critical to our democracy and when people go out of their way to attend and have serious and in some cases life altering questions, that requires great and serious deliberation by any conscientious political leader answering to them.

You make a valid point regarding the parents but I have also seen cases with parents oblivious to the actions of their babies or children and the effect they have on other adults in a public setting.

My thoughts were also with the people attending the town hall particularly the man asking a serious question from Bernie.

Humor certainly has its' place but I place much greater emphasis on serious deliberation and the free, unhindered flow of information during town halls or debates.

[NurseJackie]

9. Uh-huh.

You make a valid point regarding the parents but I have also seen cases with parents oblivious to the actions of their babies or children and the effect they have on other adults in a public setting.

It shows impatience and a surly demeanor to snap at the parent like that after ONE unexpected outburst by the baby. Honestly, it serves NO good purpose other than to confirm to many this particular personality trait.

Humor certainly has its' place but I place much greater emphasis on serious deliberation and the free, unhindered flow of information during town halls or debates.

Oh please! GMAFB! NOBODY is suggesting that the whole thing become an evening at Caroline's Improv Comedy Club.

In a public forum, these types of unexpected things are going to occur. Other than PROHIBITING parents with babes-in-arms from attending... there's really no way to prevent it. Candidates should know this in advance and should be prepared. They should be prepared to ignore it, or they should be prepared to smile and show a little compassion and humor. NEITHER OF WHICH was on display.

When a candidate gets IMMEDIATELY angry after ONE baby cries for the FIRST time... that reveals much about a candidate's demeanor and empathy. The candidate I end up voting for will be better than that.

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. Spot on! Not a good look, and it speaks volumes about the nature of the person in question.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. No, but being curt and dismissive when annoyed about a small thing certainly is.

Especially when he's surrounded by an ostensibly friendly crowd.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Bernie doesn't play by the passions of the crowd and that's why they love him.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/08/25/bernie-sanders-scolds-crowd-david-koch-death-sot-nr-vpx.cnn

Bernie was more concerned with stressing the import and not being dismissive of the questioner.

I believe it was about insulin but could be wrong about that?

[NurseJackie]

16. Excuses, excuses. It changes nothing about the fact that his behavior was horrid.

that's why they love him.

Bernie was more concerned with stressing the import and not being dismissive of the questioner.

Excuses, excuses. It changes nothing about the fact that his behavior was horrid. The dreadful way that he publicly humiliated the baby's parent had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with "not being dismissive of the questioner". (Excuses and explanations like that are just grasping at straws. I'd be embarrassed to go to such lengths to defend what was clearly an indefensible moment.)

I believe it was about insulin but could be wrong about that?

At this point, who remembers? The bad behavior has now taken center stage. It really goes to someone's ability to prioritize, to think ahead, to consider consequences, to be prepared, and to not take one's self SO seriously to the exclusion of everyone else.

All I'm saying is that this isn't the demeanor or temperament of the type of person that *I* want in the White House.

He should apologize... and his defenders should stop embarrassing themselves with pretzel logic and contorted excuses, and instead just admit that he fucked up.

[pnwmom]

12. Someone who is incapable of cuddling with babies or children or even a pet

is demonstrating a curious lack of human something that I like to see in a President.

[Uncle Joe]

14. There is video on the link of Trump cuddling with a small boy, giving him a nice hug.

he must be demonstrating "human something."

[pnwmom]

15. It was a fake hug, just for the cameras. And the boy wasn't crying.

Here's Obama with a crying baby.

[Demsrule86]

17. Oh come on...we are talking about babies...there is a reason why pols kiss babies.

[LanternWaste]

18. This is troubling for Bernie.

(just taking a page from your book... imitation is indeed, flattery)