Mitch McConnell (R - KY) is poised to snatch the Senate Majority Leader position away from Harry Reid if the mid-term elections favor the republicans tomorrow as many pundits and poles are predicting.
The above image was captured recently in the oval office. From a nonverbal perspective, Mitch McConnell, seated here with John Boehner and Barack Obama, is displaying a variation of a "Seated Fig-Leaf". The body language of a good leader - political or otherwise, projects assertiveness and strength - and a person who is emotionally comfortable. However the Kentucky Senator is transmitting none of these qualities here. In this moment McConnell is feeling intimidated and demure. Such a configuration should never be displayed by any leader unless perhaps meeting with a major religious figure or attending a similar ceremony, funeral, etc. By bearing his beta emotions to President, he projects emotional weakness and places himself and himself at a profound political disadvantage.
Although this photo does not give us an optimal viewing angle, along with the primary components of a fig-leaf (hands clasped or nearly-so over the groin, though here Sen. McConnell seems he is perhaps trying, unsuccessfully so, to project a low conventional steeple), his feet are too close together, his upper arms are touching his torso, his shoulders are hunched and neck foreshortened. This nonverbal cluster shouts "I feel weak".
See also:
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2999: Chris Christie to James Keady "Sit Down and Shut Up" - Body Language Congruent with ....
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2246: Harry Reid vs. Mitch McConnell on the Senate Floor - Their Body Language Betrays How they Feel about Probability of Fiscal Cliff Deal
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1892: Harry Reid, "That's a Clown Question Bro!" - Tongue in Cheek
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2947: Governor Rick Perry - Beta Body Language
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2896: Hillary Clinton - Vladimir Putin Bears Some Responsibility for the Downing of Malaysia Air Flight MH17
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