No, Democrats, the likability question isn't sexist

And while it’s not nice to describe someone as unlikable, and it’s brutal to be the subject of this debate, that’s too bad. A run for president invites this discussion. Debating likability itself is one thing — but calling that debate sexist is another. If President Nixon could weigh in, he might agree that women could be called “sexist” for even raising the issue.

Now that campaigns have moved off the backs of trains to an entirely different platform — social media — the likability question only looms larger. And Democrat seeking the attention of younger voters will have to live there, hang out online and be, you know, human. Senior citizens like Warren, or former Vice President Joe Biden, should he enter the race, aren’t exempt. Thus far the scenes from Warren’s kitchen are quite dull, but who knows if one day some post of her prepping peanut butter popcorn balls doesn’t catch fire.

The truth is Warren isn’t so likable. Her team is trying to poke fun at the issue, labeling a recent fundraising email “likability,” while the candidate ignores the question. Her full-time video team has been working since last year to capture the real Elizabeth and counter her image as a schoolmarm and a scold. But it clearly bothers her campaign.