Ron DeSantis may end up having one characteristic in common with Donald Trump and that is consistency. So far the DeSantis campaign has been one of form over substance, of selling image rather than policy. From the ludicrous faux-religious “God Make A Fighter” campaign video, to the “Top Guv” video, to the recent abomination of the virulent anti-gay video featuring images of DeSantis next to Brad Pitt’s Achilles, DeSantis is committed to convincing the electorate he is an heroic figure when actual contacts with the man show him to be dull, uninspired and not particularly well informed.
Today, DeSantis loves a parade. And he dons the footwear to walk in one.
It’s got to be hard to walk in those things he’s so high off the ground. pic.twitter.com/MIDxsL4Mcd
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 4, 2023
Here’s the part of the tweet you need to see.
That’s one way of getting two or three inches taller. Another way is shoe lifts, inside the shoe, but those make you sway. Al Pacino used to wear those in different scenes, notably the scenes with Keanu Reeves on top of the New York building in Devil’s Advocate. That’s what Pacino complained about, was that the shoes were unstable and hard to maneuver around in and when he turned, he would sway.
Pacino became an A-list leading man, despite being 5’4″ (his publicists used to lie that he was 5’7″. I know people who worked with him and they say 5’4″.) But it’s interesting that the publicists felt they had to lie and I think it’s because Pacino was a leading man. Joe Pesci, by contrast, is 5’3″ and he never made any bones about it. If you doubt for a minute what I say about Pacino being 5’4″, go look at publicity stills from The Irishman and you’ll see that the two actors are the same height.
I mention this because the obsession with height and size that DeSantis has is interesting. Another leading man who is short is Richard Dreyfuss. He’s 5’5″, same height as me. I can verify that first hand because I met him in an elevator in Beverly Hills. His agent had offices in a building where I worked, and we chatted about how confusing the parking was.
Point being, Dreyfuss is comfortable in his own skin and not trying to be something he’s not. Pacino, on the other hand, has been seen wearing the same lift shoes as DeSantis, in this picture. So apparently height is an issue to him.
And let me be clear: I’m not saying that height shouldn’t be an issue to a guy, because men “should” be tall, in this culture. Tallness is a virtue. I get that. I also get that some men adjust to having issues with baldness and some simply do not, Donald Trump being a prima facie example of the latter.
And women are taught to hate their bodies early on as well. I see all of this. Again, my point is that DeSantis can do one of two things, strut around in tall shoes or just be who he is and be comfortable with it. And so far, being who he is and comfortable in his own skin are not characteristics that the man has displayed. So I’m not holding my breath.
Or, maybe he should make a joke out of it all and vow to “walk on stilts and carry a tennis racket” as the Humphrey Bogart character quipped in The Big Sleep, when the Lauren Bacall character quipped that he was short. (In point of fact, Bacall was taller than Bogart and that did not stop them from being madly in love and married until throat cancer took Bogart’s life at age 57.)
But DeSantis is not a funny, self-effacing kind of a guy, so don’t hold your breath for any kind of an epiphany. He’s clearly embarked on an odyssey of making himself what he thinks is an attractive commodity via television, oblivious to the fact that so far it’s blowing up in his face.
What is sad, is that if DeSantis would, in fact, blow off cracks about his height or anything else, he would defuse them. But evidently that takes a certain kind of self awareness and self acceptance that the man does not have. And those are qualities that come with maturity.
Again, we revisit the question, is this somebody you want to trust with the nuclear codes? Although I don’t think that we’re going to have to seriously contemplate this question, because I think DeSantis will self-immolate long before then.
In a culture that batters a boy’s self esteem every step of the way, teaching him to walk with a big stick, wink wink, never show vulnerability, never cry in front of ANYONE, much less other boys/men, just buck up and absorb the blows, and be measured by the size of your penis, your bank account, your house, your possessions, and the attractiveness of women who are suppose to fawn over you, is it any wonder why damaged men hide themselves? I realize the feminist movement was necessary to battle these type of men who have been, and are running the world. That being said, part of the cultural message is ALL men are part of the problem. Not true. Women have done their share to reinforce the damage. Any man who is authentic, vulnerable, caring, and refuses to seek power and money to subjugate others is on an island by himself. African Americans are bonded the second they encounter each other. The history of racism has forced them to do so. The feminist movement has enhanced women’s ability to connect with each other. There never has been a similar movement for men, with the power to change our culture, as the Civil rights and women’s movements have done and continue to do. Men are solitary creatures, carrying our wounds silently, which is why we die younger, commit more suicides, get into more violent altercations, seek some type of power, etc. This creature from Florida, who should be secure with all he’s accomplished in his education and career, is just a wounded boy, hiding from himself and pretending to be a man. As ‘reality’ TV has shown,(and is another manifestation of our denial of reality), desperation is the driving force behind insecurity. You see it everywhere and all the time. Do you honestly think America would elect a real honest vulnerable man? Biden comes close having suffered publicly unbelievable loss and come through it. Yet, he’s now demonized for growing old, something that makes us feel vulnerable because it’s either that with all of its realities or early death. American Indians revered the elders. We throw them away. DeSantis is a product of what we worship. All hat and no cattle. That’s our culture.
That is a great comment Scott, profound and accurate.
There’s a lot of truth in what you say, Scott, as always. I do think that strides have been made away from the invulnerable he-man stereotype. And even back in the day when those stereotypes were dominant, there were still actors like Kirk Douglas or Burt Lancaster who showed their hearts and their feelings. So it’s not entirely black and white. Bogart is another example. He was the tough guy who could feel soul deep and melt your heart.
Where DeSantis is making his mistake is by putting image over substance and that is why he keeps falling on his ass. He may be too far gone now to rehabilitate his campaign. That homophobic ad on June 30 did a lot of damage.
Good comments on men, but we still have to deal with his nasty mean fascist intentions and there is no excuse or time to blame what men face in this society, they are still responsible for their actions, most men don’t have the hate that wimp has.
This is true enough. His war with Disney, a major Florida employer it totally nuts. And so is his homophobic stance. He might not remain a powerful force in Florida if he keeps this up, much less graduate to D.C.
Brilliant observation, Scott, thanks for pointing that out. I for one, never looked at it that way. Now that I have been blessed with 13 boys among my grandchildren and great grands, I will be mindful of your comments.
At least they’re not the white boots.
We need a campaign ad with DeSantis in the white boots and maybe even these boots here, and Nancy Sinatra’s song playing. That would be hysterical.
We’re in this together!
I don’t see it. My husbands boots have thick soles like that. Not sayin’ Ronnie is a good guy he is still scum. Just not sure these boots have lifts.
Well some boots have thick soles for what you use them for. If Desantis is wearing thick soles they are for making him taller as he probably hasn’t done any work in twenty years. I like the white boots thing. I can’t believe he went out in public like that.
Historically the taller candidate wins, though. Guess DeDaster knows that.
Scott’s comment was one of the best I’ve seen on these pages. Bullies are desired for the most part in both business and the military. I am so glad I am retired. I just wish I wasn’t watching the country burn.