Does the American electorate have a distaste for plainspokenness?

[Phony Moderate]

Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Hillary Clinton. All four of these have policies/viewpoints that may very well offend large sections of the populace, but all four have relatively goody-good personalities. Rarely any color in their language whatsoever. To state the obvious, the first is the incumbent President and other three are all regarded as serious contenders in the race to succeed the first.

Allen West, Alan Grayson, Howard Dean and Michele Bachmann. All four of these have viewpoints that, if you read between the lines, are not too different from (or identical to) that of the mainstream of their respective parties (and Dean was of course the chairman of his party). All four of these have a common problem: their mouths. Due to their plainspokenness, they are dismissed as lunatics/buffoons/extremists/some combination of the above. If these four had the personalities of the four listed in the previous paragraph, they may all have more prestigious jobs and would be serious contenders for the Presidency in 2016.

In my nation, we have a fellow by the name of Boris Johnson. He often uses provocative language, such as suggesting that those with sub-par IQs are worthless. However, he is well-liked, seen as perfectly mainstream and has a realistic chance at becoming Prime Minister. Conversely, the three main party leaders are all pretty loathed. But their personalities are more in line with those in the first paragraph.

So, what be the answer to the title question? And if it's yes, then why?

[Simfan34]

President Adlai Stevenson agrees- Americans love their eggheads.

No. Americans have a preference for "straight talk", "no-nonsense", "common-sense" politicians. People generally like people who say what is on their mind and simple things on their mind. Your examples didn't lose because "they were in the mainstream". They lost because they weren't in the mainstream, or in Dean's case, because of a scream.

What you call "plainspokenness" isn't really such. It's "not insulting those whose votes you need to win". Boris can do it because he has no intention or expectation of having those he insults vote for him, not at least the Labour councillors who he called "great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies" (I assume that's what you're referring to). Nor do Obama, Clinton, or Walker have policies that "offend large sections of the populace", at least not ones they've bothered to conceal. Everyone knows Walker is not a fan of labor or that Obama likes his health care reform.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

I disagree with Simfan

For all the talk about plainspokenness- we look for our leaders to be poised and polished. Our politicians are our representatives. My President represents my country abroad, my Governor when noticed nationally is seen as representing my state as a whole, my Senators and Congressmen the same... The way our politicians behave says something about us who elect them.