What People Don't Get About 'Boring and Bland' Scott Walker

Criticized for his inability to captivate crowds, the potential Republican presidential candidate does possess a sharpened set of rhetorical skills.

Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin, speaks during the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. The talent show that is a presidential campaign began in earnest Saturday as more than 1,200 Republican activists, who probably will vote in Iowa's caucuses, packed into a historic Des Moines theater to see and hear from a parade of their party's prospective entries
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

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By Michael C. Bender and John McCormick

January 30, 2015 at 10:45 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

In a campaign ad released during the final days of his highly contested re-election effort last year, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker never broke eye contact with the camera. He leaned slightly forward, inched closer to the viewer, and arched his eyebrows as he slowly explained the controversial bill he signed into law that requires a woman to undergo an ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy.

"The bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor," Walker said about the measure, adding that "reasonable people can disagree on this issue."