The 11 Most Awkward Dancing Politicians

Keaton Who Should I Vote For 2012? 20,690 views 11 items

Politicians dance. It's part of the job description. Campaigning is about convincing voters that you are smart and capable enough to lead them, but it's also important to show people that you are "one of them." Just a regular gal or guy who can relate to the problems facing the everyday, average person on the street. For some reason, this inevitably involves busting a move to some popular or culturally-significant song.

Unfortunately, politicians don't TYPICALLY train for this sort of thing early on. It's de-emphasized when compared to, say, having a position on the issues with wide appeal, or surrounding one's self with capable advisors, or cultivating a really nice, thick head of hair. So even a cursory YouTube search will reveal a WHOLE LOT of clips of politicians embarrassing themselves by wiggling along with popular tunes.

Below are the Top 10 Most Awkward Politician Dance Videos. Tread carefully... you've been warned...

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1

Rick Perry

This clip of Perry celebrating Hannukah 2010 with a collection of rabbis started making the Internet rounds in the Fall of 2011, even earning a coveted spot on "The Daily Show" Moment of Zen. It's hard to even put into words the look of extreme discomfort and uncertainty on Perry's face throughout this entire clip. He has about as much confidence doing a traditional Jewish dance as he would performing a traditional Jewish bris.
2

George Bush

A number of clips of President Bush doing silly dances surfaced during his campaigns and administration. He's just kind of a silly man. Silly dances seemed to come naturally. (More on this in a bit.)

But perhaps no video of Bush shaking his groove thing became more infamous than this selection from Malaria Awareness Day, 2008. Here's Bush, at the White House, performing a traditional African dance in SUCH an alien, other-worldly fashion, it almost looks like he's not fully in control of his limbs.
3

Hillary Rodham Clinton

First up, here's the former First Lady getting what she later described as "a pretty good workout" at a West Philadelphia community center.

The dance itself - an amalgam of swaying and head-bobbing that resembles the sort of pattern any middle-aged white lady might put together extemporaneously - wouldn't really be so bad if it weren't for that big, ear-to-ear grin HilRod wears plastered all over her face for the entire session. It's like The Joker and your great-aunt Bernice had a love child which has now been invited to wear a red blazer and attend a catered affair.

And now, a bonus clip from the 2009 Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (or AGOA) dinner, in which Hillary performs a traditional African dance. If you ever wanted to see the Secretary of State get low... here's your chance:
4

Colin Powell

Otherwise known as "The only clip more embarrassing to Colin Powell than his infamous UN address."

Seriously, to those Americans too young to vividly recall the Macarena craze, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. America for a time was gripped by a collective insanity leading to this song/dance becoming massively, non-ironically popular for a time, with a fervor that's hard to fully comprehend now that it has passed.
5

Boris Yeltsin

Is Boris Yeltsin engaging in a popular Russian folk dance, or doing his best impression of the Martin Short "Ed Grimley" character from "Saturday Night Live"? It's honestly a bit hard to tell...

Yeltsin's successor - Vladimir Putin - is also rumored to be quite a snazzy dancer, though somehow, he's managed to keep all the clips of him in action off of YouTube. Possibly through KGB connections. We can't be sure.

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juliemaria
Rick Perry at 10/04/2011 10:23 PM

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The 11 Most Awkward Dancing Politicians

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