Senator Rand Paul (R-TN) recently visited the College of Charleston. To anyone with any doubts - he IS running for President in 2016 .... And he has a "Plan A" & a "Plan B".
This image is captured during the 0:23 segment just after he says,
"I'm not opposed to ...... birth control."
His facial expression tells us that he regrets saying this. We don't know whether the reason for his regret is because he is really morally opposed to birth control - or whether he believes by saying so out loud will hurt his chances for the Oval Office - but he is experiencing regret in this moment.
This image is from 1:25. It occurs during the first part of the sentence - but disappears when he finds out the full nature of the question.
When Peter Hamby asks, "Do you think the Republican Party can survive and adapt if .....", we see Paul's mouth in a configuration known as a "Forward Lip Purse". This indicates either a clandestine disagreement - or, as it shows here, a clandestine plan. Furthermore it tells us that he believes he has a good chance of executing his plan successfully. The forward lip purse indicates a large disparity between what is said aloud and what is thought-felt.
With a very high degree of confidence, this body language moment tells us that if Rand Paul does not win the Republican Nomination for President in 2016 he will run as an independent (or libertarian). This will, of course, as was the case in 1992 and in 1912, split the ticket - and Hillary Clinton will have an easy victory.
This image about 0.5 seconds later shows a close-up of the
Forward Lip Purse.
At 1:40, after Mr. Hamby asks, "And you could re-think it at some point too?" (his stance on same-sex marriage), we see Bilateral Prolonged Lid Closure - which in this context telegraphs disgust followed by contempt.
A second later at 1:41, Paul Shrugs (of which there are many variations) - indicating, "I don't care", "I don't know", or "What does it matter?"
Yet, if we look further we see that the Senator's mouth has nonverbal elements of both contempt and regret while his eyes still display contempt.
Thus, with a high degree of confidence, we glimpse into the playbook of Paul's Presidential plans for 2016. If he does not win the Republican nomination he will run as a third party candidate and Mrs. Clinton will coast to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
See also:
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2972: Rachel Respess, Destrehan High School Teacher Arrested and Smiling Incongruent with Emotional Context
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2946: Barack Obama's 10 September 2014 ISIS Speech
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2927: Barack Obama regarding ISIS/ISIL - Atypical for the President
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2641: John McCain with Protesters in Kiev, Ukraine - You Feel Safe There?
Dating & Romance Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1010: What Makes the Twinkle in Her Eye?
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2179: Mitt Romney & Barack Obama - Sincere Hugs and True Affection
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2930: Rand Paul and "Likability" - Building vs. Destroying It
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