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By Tim Skubick The Rick Snyder persona


remains a work in progress and he is making some prog- ress on his ability to commu- nicate with the media and the citizens.


A political unknown and


about four of his novice han- dlers showed up in front of the capitol steps.


It was one of


those picturesque Michigan afternoons with the sun beat- ing down, but what unfolded was no so picturesque.


It was Mr. Ill-At-Ease, aka


Rick Snyder, and his family in tow standing there, dwarfed by the Capitol building that cast a shadow over all five of them. He was in town to tell the world he was running for governor. Ho-hum. And that’s exactly the kind of per- formance he gave.


He stood behind a wobbly,


tiny podium with a placard in front that read “Rick Michigan for Governor.” One citizen who wandered past the sparse- ly attended event, minus the balloons and normal hoopla, wondered if that Michigan was his last name.


Snyder read the speech and


read it poorly. It was like a kid trying to give a speech in front of a high school English class. He did not connect with the audience, but since there wasn’t one, not to worry. On and on it went and by the time he got back on his giant motor home — it was not the Nerd- mobile then — it was pretty evident this guy would never be governor.


Comparing him to the cur-


rent governor, who had a boat- load of communication skills and charisma coming out of her ears, this hopeful did not move the needle. It was easy to dismiss him.


Fast forward to Tuesday


night, election night, Nov. 2, 2010.


Wasn’t that the same “can-


didate” standing in the middle of all those balloons, all that confetti and all those shouting supporters in a downtown De- troit hotel?


And wasn’t he saying some-


thing about being happy to be the next governor of Michi- gan?


Wow, what a difference 18


months can make. To be sure, Gov-elect


Snyder is no Bill Clinton and never well be.


After all, he is a self-de-


scribed “boring former CPA,” but he has certainly put some polish on his communication skills.


That acceptance speech had


something that had been miss- ing from many of Mr. Snyder’s other performances, where it seemed like he was phoning it in. He showed some passion.


In fact, the two TV anchor-


persons, Huel Perkins and Monica Gayle, made note of that just after he finished. It was palpable — he was having fun and getting into it, which is what you need to connect with the audience.


Obviously, until he ran he


had never honed those skills because as a CEO confined to working corporate board rooms where the media never got in, there was no need to sparkle; the only talent he needed was to close the deal.


But in this modern televi-


sion-driven political culture, CPA-types can be deadly.


One thing he has done is


to spice up his patter with some humor and although he will never be mistaken for Sinbad, he is getting better at that too.


He met with Gov. Jenni-


fer Granholm the day after the election and they compared


Mobile Monday Many of Michigan’s largest


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There is no cost to attend,


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Excludes: specials, super buys, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, Tim Skubick It was not always


thus. It was two summers ago and the event was downright painful.


THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE


November 10-16, 2010 A different view of Snyder


notes on their children; they each have a boy and two girls. The governor, who is a touchy feely mom, was more than eager to share her wisdom on how to shelter the kids from the public. The drill


is the


governor is fair game, but the children are not.


Mr. Snyder revealed that


conversation in his first formal news conference. He thanked the governor for that and indi- cated he would take her up on her offer to sit down with his wife Sue and her hubby Dan to discuss the protection thing


in more depth. A reporter then asked one


of those loaded questions. Two years, ago Mr. Snyder


might have looked flush and dove for the high grass. But the semi-transformed Mr. Snyder started to chuckle when he heard the question, “Did she tell you to keep the children from the media?” Looking that reporter dead in the eyes, he ad libbed, “Not all of the media.” And with that he laughed, the press corps laughed and then in a smooth and politically correct rejoin-


der he quickly added, “Just kidding.”


It was not only a humor-


ous moment; it also had some magic, some flare, some per- sonality that had an endearing quality to it. It had everything he did not have standing in the sun under the Capitol dome a long time ago.


The new governor in waiting


is actually quite proud that he is getting better at all this and has privately discussed his getting more comfortable with this communicating stuff.


He will get another chance


to “show off” his improved persona when he delivers his first State of the State message sometime in the new year.


One also remembers the


first SOS of Ms. Granholm and the comment was, “Wow! She’s good.”


There probably won’t be


many “wows” when he speaks, but he might be perceived as getting “better” and for a non- career politician still learning the trade, he’ll probably take that with a smile.


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