Dedicated to the behind-the-scenes manipulations to try and shape each candidate into the person the image-makers think we want to vote for. McCain and Biden have been on the world stage for a long time and have had years to hone their image; Obama has had two plus shaping our perceptions of him. I don’t accuse any of the candidates of being phonies, but if you look at the record of each, none is quite what they are billed to be. Our perception of them, the maverick, the blue collar populist, and the agent for change, are all reinforced by the marketers and pollsters who are hired to get these people elected. Palin is on the surface exactly what the Republican base has been yearning for in this Presidential election, a Christian Repulbican candidate who reflects, no, exudes a religious confidence they identify with. Nothing wrong with that. But in many ways politically, she is a clean slate. She is now in seclusion, taking a crash course on the proper and expected answers to political and policy questions, being shaped to be the candidate she is expected to be. As we watch the process happen right before our eye with the politically fresh Sarah Palin, the handlers seem to know our wants and desires all too well.
Black asphalt carpet stroke my feet
Internal rhythm clocks the beat
Liquid refreshment indiscreet
Poetic license so concrete
On the way toward the light
Blind ambition blurs my sight
The hand which guides me through the night
Has left me alone
Sitting pretty on my chair
My two way mirror shields the glare
Narcissus bows in useless prayer
This franchised ego needs repair
Imagemaker come to me
Make me things that I should be
I am only what you see
And you’re wanting more
Champagne Minds and Cold Duck Hearts
And who knows where the bullshit starts
The biggest grins on the biggest sharks
In the only pond that pays
Mass distribution through master relations
Can you get a leg up on the favored nation
Can you count your long career in days
So check the odds and place your bet
Let’s have some quiet on this set
Some standard moody silhouette
I’ll hatch another image yet
Imagemaker come to me
Make me things that I should be
I am only what you see
And you’re wanting more
The big debate yesterday was whether it was wise for Oprah to refuse to have Sarah Palin on her show. Her appearance would, after all, command a HUGE audience and garner some serious $$$$$ from advertisers. But another question needs to be asked, would the Republican apparatus, which has already drawn a circle around Mrs. Palin, even allow her to be on Oprah? Here is a vid of a campaign staffer explaining her contempt for the media, some of it deserve IMO, and also indicating that the press will be given very limited access to the Presidential… I mean VP candidate:
This will make the base, who despises the “drive-by” media, very happy no doubt. But I’m not sure that this idea of a virtual media lock-down on Palin is going to win over the independent and undecided voters who, like it or not base, will be needed in order to assure a GOP victory in the fall. Don’t forget, we are living in an era often referred to as THE INFORMATION AGE!!!!!! Hint. Hint.
One thing that I have noticed, for instance, is how much more knowledgeable Governors and executive branch officials are about details of legislation and regulation than legislators. I recently was advising a Governor of a state on some legislation to increase the state’s personal property exemptions–not thought of as a big issue. But this guy (and his staff) really wanted to delve into the details of the legislation and its likely effects, the empirical work on the topic, etc. They take responsibility for what they sign and the effects of laws and regulations that are enacted.
Based on my observations, I’d say as a rule of thumb two years as a Governor certainly exceeds four years as Senator in terms of useful experience. Senators do not have to take personal responsibility for the decisions the body makes. They don’t have make tough decisions, they cut deals. This is valuable experience, but it really isn’t the same sort of experience as being an executive. Governors have to show up for work every day ready to make decisions.
Toward the end, he notes:
I submit that based on my personal observations, those who think she “lacks experience” to be President because she is a first-term Governor really just don’t know what they are talking about. And I think her ability to “step up” and give her rocking speech at the Convention is consistent with this. Nobody really has the experience to be President–the job is sui generis. What you have to have is someone who has the intelligence and character to be able to be President. Being a Governor tests for those criteria; being a Senator does not.
He suspects that during the VP debates, candidate Joe Biden (who he holds in high regard BTW) will fall into the typical trap Senators running for executive branches fall into, being long winded and having an air of self importance, a.k.a. “Senatoritis”. I know, I know, Biden being long winded and having an air of self importance – IMPOSIBLE!!!!
PS. Oops. Did I say “Obama and Palin”? Oh well. Lets face it, as far as the Republican base is concerned, McCain is almost a non-factor now, and should probably just drop out.
Yesterday I had a good conversation with my sister Mary Beth. We are very close, but differ when it comes to politics – she is sensibly liberal and I am sensibly libertarian / modervative (that’s short for moderate-conservative). We were discussing the choice of Palin as the Republican VP pick. Because I was a registered Republican and voted for Bush in 2000, MB assumed I was in the tank for the Republican ticket. Apparently she doesn’t readmyblog. MB is very critical of the Palin pick, noting her lack of experience, and I partly agree. Being governor counts for something, though I don’t know if two years in a small populus state counts for much. I don’t think Obama has much experience either; so for me, it’s a wash. She noted that Palin was for the “Bridge to Nowhere” before she was against it. I had heard than but hadn’t dug in to the details of it. It appears to be quite correct. Now, though I find it irrelevant, more baby news is breaking. And a letter has surfaced on the internet, a rather damning critique, from someone who lived in Wasilla during Palin’s tenure as mayor. It’s long, and the author has an axe to grind, none the less, the meat and bones of it are scathing when compared to the newly born myth of Sarah Palin, and it’s worth a read: Read more »
In an interview on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 Monday night, Obama was asked about whether his experience in the U.S. Senate dealing with weather-related situations compares to Palin’s executive experience running the state of Alaska and as the small town mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
“My understanding is that Gov. Palin’s town, Wassilla, has I think 50 employees. We’ve got 2500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe 12 million dollars a year – we have a budget of about three times that just for the month,” Obama responded.
Our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the past couple of years and certainly in terms of the legislation I’ve passed in the past couple of years, post-Katrina.”
Did the original question get answered? No. Notice Obama only mentions Palin’s mayoral experience and skips her tenure as governor. Does 2 1/2 years running a campaign give someone that much more experience than someone who has served for two years as governor? I would say not. You’ve passed legislation? What legislation? Did you write the legislation? No. You just voted on it. Big whup!
Back to the original question. Who has more experience dealing with “weather related situations“? Palin is in charge of a state where severe winter weather and then spring melts constantly wreaks havoc with roads and infrastructure, including precious oil pipelines that provides fuel to the masses, without which the price of gas would be even higher. Obama’s in change of a campaign where the greatest weather related challenge is whether to cancel, postpone, or move a fund raiser indoors due to rain or snow.
Point: Palin Obama.
UPDATE: Obama did a lot more for Katrina victims than I thought. Next time you write a post, research first. But it would have been nice if this information would have been include in the posted article.
Uncategorized | Sonicfrog September 7, 2008 | 
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