Is Sarcasm a Winning Strategy?
This week’s Time says John McCain’s basic nature is sarcastic. That’s how he often deals with staff and reporters.
Sarah Palin’s speech struck me that way: sarcastic.
When Republicans nominate candidates who seem mean-spirited, they lose. Witness Goldwater in 1964 and Bob Dole twice – as Ford’s running mate in 1976 and himself in 1996. Witness what happened to the Republicans when they followed Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay off the cliff.
Compare that to Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
Reports say Palin “electrified” the convention. Well, nothing ever rallies the faithful like a lost cause. I watched Democrats do it in 1972 and 1984, when vice presidential picks went awry. Never underestimate the human capacity for rationalization.
Palin, Giuliani and the GOP conventioneers have bashed the media, bashed the opposition and bashed the “elites.” But they may have forgotten to talk about what the American people care about. The enraged bull may have gone for the cape, not the matador.
The same thing happened in 1992. Republicans were so intent on attacking the
The Republican convention’s problem is revealed in the New York Times/CBS poll last week. (There the liberal media goes again.)
- 79 percent of the delegates approve of Bush’s job as president. Only 29 percent of the voters do.
- 57 percent of the delegates say the economy is very or fairly good. Only 20 percent of voters agree.
- By 77-7, delegates say holding down taxes is more important than providing health care coverage for all Americans. By 67-27, voters say the opposite.
- 80 percent of Republicans think the
Does the same rhetoric that electrifies the people in that hall impress the people at home? It’s not clear. Public opinion does not set instantaneously in these things; it takes a while to gel. Republicans desperately hope the scrappy-reformer story line will overcome the out-of-touch narrative. If it doesn’t, this will be a big Democratic year.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Is Sarcasm a Winning Strategy?
This week’s Time says John McCain’s basic nature is sarcastic. That’s how he often deals with staff and reporters.
Sarah Palin’s speech struck me that way: sarcastic.
When Republicans nominate candidates who seem mean-spirited, they lose. Witness Goldwater in 1964 and Bob Dole twice – as Ford’s running mate in 1976 and himself in 1996. Witness what happened to the Republicans when they followed Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay off the cliff.
Compare that to Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
Reports say Palin “electrified” the convention. Well, nothing ever rallies the faithful like a lost cause. I watched Democrats do it in 1972 and 1984, when vice presidential picks went awry. Never underestimate the human capacity for rationalization.
Palin, Giuliani and the GOP conventioneers have bashed the media, bashed the opposition and bashed the “elites.” But they may have forgotten to talk about what the American people care about. The enraged bull may have gone for the cape, not the matador.
The same thing happened in 1992. Republicans were so intent on attacking the
The Republican convention’s problem is revealed in the New York Times/CBS poll last week. (There the liberal media goes again.)
- 79 percent of the delegates approve of Bush’s job as president. Only 29 percent of the voters do.
- 57 percent of the delegates say the economy is very or fairly good. Only 20 percent of voters agree.
- By 77-7, delegates say holding down taxes is more important than providing health care coverage for all Americans. By 67-27, voters say the opposite.
- 80 percent of Republicans think the
Does the same rhetoric that electrifies the people in that hall impress the people at home? It’s not clear. Public opinion does not set instantaneously in these things; it takes a while to gel. Republicans desperately hope the scrappy-reformer story line will overcome the out-of-touch narrative. If it doesn’t, this will be a big Democratic year.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.