When Male Politicians Cry

[Memekiller]

“The president donned a yarmulke and teared up during the tour…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103545.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Both Bushes are self-confessed weepers. Indeed, at George W. Bush's Inauguration in January 2001, it was fascinating to watch as the president-elect made his way down to his seat on the reviewing stand. He had a smile, a nod, a greeting for everyone--except, notably, for his father. It was obvious that 41 did not want to catch the eye of 43, and 43 was just as wary. Both men knew they might blubber, which would have seemed mawkish and off-putting just as the president was about to take the oath of office. Bush the younger tries to pick his moments to tear up--he is not reluctant to weep when he meets the families of the dead and wounded in Iraq, though these occasions are almost always private.
Bill Clinton, a master of the stump and a world-class actor, comes equipped with a full range of emotions. His soulful, misty-eyed eulogy for those killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 helped turn around his political fortunes after Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution surprised the Clintonites in the 1994 elections. Clinton can be a little too soulful at times. His lip-biting can look petulant and self-pitying. He can also seem inauthentic, dangerous territory for a politician. His wife is not the only one who has gotten emotional in the 2008 campaign; Republican Mitt Romney has welled up on several occasions, to less fanfare than Hillary's much-covered moment.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/88458

Pat Schroeder has seen politicians cry before. "We had one, Ronald Reagan, who teared up at the sight of an American flag," remembers the twelve-term congresswoman from Colorado.
{snip}
when Mitt Romney teared up on Meet the Press last month, it inspired discussions of how far men had come since the days when Edmund Muskie wept after a newspaper criticized his wife. No one suggested that Romney was faking.
http://www.westword.com/2008-01-10/news/tears-and-loathing-in-new-hampshire

Mitt Romney:
Mitt Romney’s eyes filled with tears Monday as the Republican presidential contender recalled watching the casket of a soldier killed in Iraq return to the United States and imagined if it were one of his five sons. Adding a poignant twist to a story he often tells on the campaign, Romney recalled the scene at Boston’s Logan International Airport while he was Massachusetts governor.
But the fact that he teared up, people said, “Whoa, we thought he was so wooden and robotic, and there he is actually tearing up.” So actually, I think it does have an impact. It’s a genuine moment. It seems genuine.
President Bush:
The pictures were just what the White House wanted: A teary-eyed President Bush presenting the Medal of Honor posthumously to a slain war hero in the East Room.
A tear rolled down Bush’s cheek during the event, an extraordinary display of emotion by the commander-in-chief. Bush has been known to tear up and reportedly once cried in a private meeting with war widows.
The president is tremendously sentimental. Forget about putting his parents anywhere near him. At his inauguration he purposely kept them out of his line of sight so he could stay as dry-eyed as possible. He has learned not to brush the tears away.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates almost broke down as he gave a speech at a Marine Corps dinner. … Mr Gates’s show of feeling suggests that he brings a more human side to the role of defence secretary.
What is less often visible is the toll this war takes on the people who run the operation. Tonight we have a rare glimpse of emotion from a man who normally carefully chooses his words, the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. … a rare public display of emotion from the civilian in charge of this war effort.
George H.W. Bush
Wiping away tears as he recalled praying at Camp David before ordering the start of the Persian Gulf war, President Bush today offered a testimony of emotion, politics and faith to a cheering crowd of thousands of Southern Baptists.
UPDATE: Matt Stoller at OpenLeft observes, “When Edwards almost gets choked up and talks about how personal XYZ person is on the trail, he’s just passionate. When Clinton does it, she suddenly becomes a hysterical weak woman.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/07/clinton-tears/

“THE LOWDOWN: Hillary Rodham Clinton chokes up slightly Monday at a campaign stop, leading first to predictions of her political demise, then to a surprise victory in the New Hampshire primary.
At the other end of the week, President Bush tears up Friday while visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
It's quite a change - at least for men - from the stoic days of the past, when politicians and other public figures had to keep a stiff upper lip.
"Politics now has the distinction of being the central area of public life in which men cry more often than women," says Tom Lutz, who has written a book on crying.”

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/630084.html

[qb]

1. More common is the male Repbublican who weeps in shame

as he resigns (or refuses to resign) after getting caught committing sexual indiscretions.