Why It Puts People Off When Politicians Cry

“While ‘turning on the faucets’ may humanize a politician, there still seems to be a lingering threat behind such outbursts. Perhaps we prefer it as a performance more than as a real display of feelings – cynically planned outpourings rather than spontaneous displays of emotion. There is, after all, something at stake for us in these moments: we have something to fear in a politician’s tears. But what?”