Political Communication
Journal Entries 9/4 – 9/10

Watching Palin deliver the same inaccurate (untruthful) message over and over again reminds me of the German Propaganda machine of the 1930s and 40s. The Big Lie, I think it was called. The idea being that if you tell a lie over and over again, it becomes the truth in the mind of the audience.

The skillful change of ‘the question’ by the Republican Party in this election is admirable as a piece of smart political communication. Seeing that Change seems to trump Experience in this year’s rhetoric, (and also seeing that Clinton (H) had begun to cut into Obama’s message (too little… too late) with her “Working Class / Anti-Elitist” message.

Obama seems to have good control of his message… not being distracted by the events of the moment, staying on message with the economy. I believe that in the medium term, the Palin phenomena will fade.

McCain has managed (at least for the moment… and in my opinion perhaps for good) to have untied himself from Bush. He will still have to untie himself from his own record and beliefs, and he will spend every day possible trying to change the argument from ‘issues’ to ‘character’.

McCain’s shift of the question from Experience to Change, and from Record to Character is really smart.

Palin’s selection has reinforced McCain’s credentials as a change agent.

His preemptive strike against the media has also brought them (the media) into the contest as players, instead of objective observers. This has had the effect of frightening the press into being very careful about any vetting or negative reporting against Palin.

This will wear off. The idea that Palin is only ‘a heartbeat away’, I think, will eventually influence a substantial number of voters.

People say Palin will eventually have to meet with the press and answer questions about her views and beliefs… along with showing an understanding of National and International affairs. I think not. They will keep her away as long as possible, expose her only briefly, lowering expectations as to what it is she has to know, and play the injured party whenever she is pressed.

Palin receiving ‘Hillary Voters’ is a red herring. It’s not those democrats that they want, or that they will ever get (except where race is the underlying… unspoken reason).

The shift of women to the McCain Palin ticket comes predominantly from undecided Republican women (who were hanging out because of their dislike of Bush) and Independent women (who were hanging out because of their dislike of Obama).

In the first instance, these women were going to go that way (or stay home) anyway. In the second, race may play an unidentified factor.

Playing to build the base is always a good thing… except that the Republican base has become too small. Nonetheless, there is no other place to go.

It’s also brilliant to run Palin vs. Obama, as it brings Obama down to her level, and if he begins to respond, it makes him look less presidential.

McCain has a record. Obama should run against it.

Democrats have already been placed in the column of Tax and Spend… and Weak on Defense (see my opening comment). Don’t spend the campaign trying to refute that

Don’t play defense. Don’t attack. Deliver the message that works clearly… over and over again.

When McCain says “Obama wants to raise taxes, don’t say “McCain is not telling you the truth about the Democratic tax plan” unless Truth is the issue. This doesn’t mean anything. The message should be “If you earn more than $1,000,000 per year, your taxes will go up. If you earn less than $250,000, your taxes will go down.” Period.

Re-defining the contest as to what kind of change America wants, levels the playing field. Then making the choice as to which candidate has more character (which is very important in the electorate’s mind) moves it into the McCain column.

The idea of reforming Washington (Changing Washington) losses traction when McCains Record is called into question. It is not change in Washington that people want, but rather change in their own lives.

Trying to tie changing how Washington works into changing my life is tricky, and I don’t think will gain much traction.

Change works when it is re-enforced by specifics that people are fearful about… like National Security, and The Economy.

Short of a terrorist attack or scare (that the nation believes to be real) National Security will not trump the Economy.

Obama (and the Democrats in general) are better with the Economy argument every time.

Stay on message. “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?” America is in this unbearable position because of what the Republicans believe. McCain’s record shows that he believes as they do. Here’s what the Democrats believe. And here’s what I believe… and what I will do!