Nicky Berman | Presidential politics is still personal

"Isn't she beeeeauutiful?" whispered the suited woman standing next to me. "There's just nothing like being in the presence of someone with that much charisma."

We were caught in the middle of the pushing and crowding in Houston's Hall of Flags last Monday, flush from our meeting with Hillary Clinton herself. My new friend certainly wasn't the first to be swept off her feet by the experience of personally meeting a high-profile political figure. In fact, her star-struck expression reminded me of my own googley eyes as I exited Irvine Auditorium a few weeks ago after hearing President Clinton speak.

The media often fixates on the complexities of campaign strategy and the way they employ various mediums of communication to win support. Still, it's refreshing to realize that even in this ultra-modern era, the personal meet-and-greet remains such a powerful form of campaigning.

We've all heard the story of the young Bill Clinton shaking the hand of then-President John F. Kennedy and how the moment changed the course of his political career forever.

We've all listened as a friend - or a friend of a friend - gushed and cooed about the unique experience of seeing that big-name politician up close, how he witnessed the charm, the magnetism, the je n'sais qua, exuded right in front of his very eyes.

With the inundation of campaign communications in our political system today - direct mail, radio commercials, TV spots, news articles, podcasts, robo-calls and interactive Web sites - it's a wonder that politicians still bother to campaign in person at all.

Considering the immense energy and time required for personal appearances, one has to think that there are more effective - and less exhausting - ways for them to spend those precious seconds.

Yet the most old-fashioned and pure form of candidate-voter communication remains alive and well today, with campaigns still seeming to place the highest premium on personal contact.

Just yesterday, Senator Clinton gave two speeches and held two rallies across two states. Throughout this week, Senator McCain will meet thousands of voters as he traverses Virginia, Maryland, Florida and Arizona to lead Town Hall meetings and give stump speech after stump speech. Senator Obama, in the midst of his six-day bus tour across the Keystone state, has already come face-to-face with tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

And we've come to expect this of politicians - that they'll spend every waking hour shaking voters' hands, rustling babies' hair and snapping pictures with as many members of the electorate as humanly possible.

We have to think that all this hard work has its payoffs - and statistically speaking, it does. Paul Herrnson, University of Maryland political science professor, explained that "politicians and those who work for them know that nothing is more effective in winning the support of an undecided voter or mobilizing the participation of someone who is inclined to support a candidate than a smile, firm handshake and a personal request for your vote."

Speaking from his own experience, College senior Tripper Sivick agrees wholeheartedly. He still remembers vividly his meeting with McCain at a fundraising event over three years ago. "He was more impressive and gave me a better impression than any TV or radio spot could ever give," Sivick recalled.

And this encounter will be an important factor in Sivick's vote in November: "It certainly weighs on your mind when you've met a presidential candidate, and he's made a personal impact on you."

For Talia Joseph, a College senior who attended Senator Clinton's speech on Monday, meeting the candidate in person was powerful enough to sway her vote. "I totally met her - she even knows what I'm doing this summer!" she exclaimed. "And I have to tell you that I personally decided to vote for Hillary in the primary as a result of meeting her."

As members of Generation Y, we often come dangerously close to surrendering to all that's virtual, technological and artificially manufactured. But when it comes to political candidates, at least, we haven't lost the ability to value our own experiences and appreciate what's standing right in front of us.

Nicky Berman is a College senior from Boston, Mass. Her e-mail is berman@dailypennsylvanian.com. Philly-Bustering appears alternating Tuesdays.

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