it’s partly literal, about their sweat levels - notice that the presidents from southern states (lbj, carter, clinton) are all various stages of wet, nixon and trump are famously very sweaty, whereas you will have a harder time finding photos of biden or reagan for example dripping sweat. but it’s also vibes-based, dryer presidents are mostly more boring, lack a sort of bon vivant quality compared to the wet presidents, are a bit more put together in their public appearances. at least that’s how i would try to explain it. i also disagree with some of his assessments, mostly truman and bush ii (both slightly on the wet side of the spectrum)
reagan was considered kind of a nowhere man, to such an extent that a biographer, rather than writing a biography about him, wrote a novel about a guy who just kind of ran into reagan on occasion. he was hollow, lacked a personality, a soulless quality to him. i think that plays a part in him being the dryest president
JFK was famously so dry that the CIA had to unalive him at Dow Chemical’s request so that they could research his body to invent those little silica gel packs.
i appreciate you asking because it was fun trying to articulate what makes the tweet work both as a joke and as a (mostly jocular) analysis lol. i’m sure someone else would have an equally valid explanation, maybe christman himself has addressed it in one of the cushvlogs
https://nitter.poast.org/cushbomb/status/1516894130328154112#m
lol this makes me even more confused. Why is Reagan BONE DRY? And why did I read that in John Mulaney’s voice?
it’s partly literal, about their sweat levels - notice that the presidents from southern states (lbj, carter, clinton) are all various stages of wet, nixon and trump are famously very sweaty, whereas you will have a harder time finding photos of biden or reagan for example dripping sweat. but it’s also vibes-based, dryer presidents are mostly more boring, lack a sort of bon vivant quality compared to the wet presidents, are a bit more put together in their public appearances. at least that’s how i would try to explain it. i also disagree with some of his assessments, mostly truman and bush ii (both slightly on the wet side of the spectrum)
reagan was considered kind of a nowhere man, to such an extent that a biographer, rather than writing a biography about him, wrote a novel about a guy who just kind of ran into reagan on occasion. he was hollow, lacked a personality, a soulless quality to him. i think that plays a part in him being the dryest president
JFK was famously so dry that the CIA had to unalive him at Dow Chemical’s request so that they could research his body to invent those little silica gel packs.
Ah, gotcha. That actually kind of makes sense. I think I really am having a tism day lol.
i appreciate you asking because it was fun trying to articulate what makes the tweet work both as a joke and as a (mostly jocular) analysis lol. i’m sure someone else would have an equally valid explanation, maybe christman himself has addressed it in one of the cushvlogs
You did a bang up job with the analysis lol.
Oh god you’re right, I heard it that way too