Most Likable Candidate Most "Likely" Will Be Elected President

Lately on TV, public opinion polls have come out that should be disturbing to Hillary Clinton as she campaigns to be elected as the next U.S. president in 2016.  They tend to reveal that people in general don't find her to be very likable.  Now whether one candidate or another has a more genial or compelling personality has not influenced my own choice for president since I began voting in 1976, but the past several elections show a trend of the more likable candidates, regardless of party affiliation, winning the elections.  In the past two, Barack Obama has shown to be more likable than either John McCain or Mitt Romney.  George W. Bush's homespun, plain way of presenting himself was much more amenable to people than the stuffy Al Gore and John Kerry from 2000 and 2004, respectively.  Bill Clinton's outgoing and positive demeanor won over many people as he beat George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole in '92 and '96.  That same George H.W. Bush...of course, simply known in 1988 as George Bush...had a clear personality edge over the stiff Michael Dukakis in that year's contest.  Probably the most obvious example of all this is how Ronald Reagan charmed the nation in 1980 and 1984 while stomping over Jimmy Carter and  Walter Mondale.  And that same Jimmy Carter, who had transformed himself into a morose and preachy president by 1980, had won enough votes with his almost constant smile and encouraging words to squeak by Gerald Ford (also considered to be a "nice" guy) in 1976.  Now I realize that other people may disagree as to who was more or less likable in various of these elections...I'm just going on my own gut feelings about all this.  And I went against the "likability" trend when I went to the polls in 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2004...

There's obviously much more to the job of president than being able to win a popularity contest.  Unfortunately, the cynical side of me feels that it is exactly how millions of American voters make their decisions about this very crucial office...and they tend to be the ones that tilt the election to one candidate over the other...