The Washington-based Pew Research Center recently asked 750 people for one- word descriptions of Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, and Pat Buchanan. The answers are, at the very least, illuminating. The four words most frequently used to describe Clinton were “good,” “trying,” “okay,” and “fair.” Tied for fifth were “honest” (no kidding) and “wishy-washy.”
For Buchanan, “extreme, . . . radical,” “conservative,” and “ultra- conservative” rounded out the top four, with “racist,” “scary, … jerk,” ” crazy, … nuts,” “dangerous,” and “frightening” also placing in the top 20. The top four for Dole were only a little bit better: “old,” “conservative,” ” too old,” and “good.” But it may be a sign of Dole’s troubles that the same number of people who thought of him as a “leader” and a “good man” also thought of the word “pineapple” when they were asked about him.
