The Conservative Cave
Current Events => Politics => Topic started by: BlueStateSaint on July 31, 2010, 06:36:26 AM
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I got this off of Real Clear Politics' "Horse Race Blog."
Obama's Vanity is a Liability for Democrats
July 30, 2010
By Jay Cost
When Barack Obama burst onto the national scene in early 2007, I was fascinated by his public relations strategy. As a candidate, his facility with the arts of public communication vastly outstripped John McCain's (and Hillary Clinton's, for that matter), and frankly has few rivals in the history of electioneering.
Yet my fascination turned to consternation some time after Mr. Obama's inauguration. I had expected him to modify substantially his strategy in light of the august office he now inhabits. As early as February, 2009 - I fretted about the President's continued courting of celebrity. Since those early days, it has become frustratingly apparent that his Administration's way of dealing with the public is largely an extension of his campaign's.
Neither of them is wholly "rational." You cannot explain how Obama the candidate or Obama the President communicates with the public by assuming that it is all a product of strategic thinking. A strategy implies a goal and a credible explanation as to why a particular action will help accomplish that goal. Too many of his activities are inexplicable by this language of strategic rationality. Recall the Summer of 2008 when candidate Obama seemed particularly weightless: the "Seal of Obama," his European tour, his grandiose convention stage. There was something more to each of these than the simple determination that they were the best ways to spread his message to the masses.
Ditto his choice to appear on The View. Celebrities go on The View. Movie stars and rock stars. Not sitting Presidents of the United States. You cannot explain his decision to appear there without acknowledging that it was, at least in part, about the thrill he gets from being treated like a movie star. This is not merely about public communication. This is also about vanity.
I'll cut it off here. The rest, with a video, is at:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2010/07/obamas_vanity_is_a_liability_f.html
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They're figuring it out and finding themselves duped. Out of the 6 I know who voted for 'O' only one will still talk about it and he still supports him .... He still isn't happy with him but this guy is a true yellow dog.
KC