Using Bees To Effect Vengeance

I get to be as self-indulgent as I want without wasting anyone's time. Guilt-free solipsism -- excellent!

Looking for that particular entry? Search Using Bees....




This page is powered by Blogger. Why isn't yours?

Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com



Archives:


Email the Proprietor

Friday, September 17, 2004
 
The Decembrist rocks it again:

"If I were running the issues department of the Kerry campaign, or any campaign, the sign above my desk would not be James Carville's 'It's the Economy Stupid': my sign would say, 'It's not what you say about the issues, it's what the issues say about you.' That is, as a candidate, you must choose to emphasize issues not because they poll well or are objectively our biggest problems, but because they best show the kind of person you are, and not just how you would deal with that particular issue, but others yet to rear their heads. The best illustration of that is John McCain. The most admired political figure achieved his status in large part by his crusade for campaign finance reform. I've seen all the polls on this for seven or eight years, and 'campaign finance reform,' as an issue, is of interest to at most 5% of the public. I'd like for it to be otherwise, but it's not. And yet, for McCain, campaign finance reform is the perfect issue. It's tells a story about his independence, and his persistence, and it gives him a populist message without having to embrace more liberal economic policies. Clinton's much-derided 'micro-initiatives' of the mid-1990s likewise sent a message about who he was: responsible, not extreme, neither a lover of government for its own sake nor a nihilist like Newt Gingrich. The insignificance of his gestures was a potent message in itself, and saved his presidency."

Interesting and genuinely insightful post, like all of his.

|

Comments: Post a Comment