John Kerry was slammed because he spoke French, windsurfed, preferred wine to beer, and was elitist. George Bush was portrayed by Republicans as someone you could crack a beer with, chomp into a hamburger at the BBQ, because he was 'one of the guys'.
Now, the Republicans are pushing the line that real men vote for McCain, while Hollywood weenies vote for Obama:
" McCain is endorsed by Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Obama gets support from Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, and every weenie in Hollywood. Plus, Susan Sarandon has vowed to leave the country if McCain gets elected. Case closed."
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTkyNTJkNDY1ZDdjMzBjNTA0NmJlMDNhZWQ2ZmZiOWY==
There will be more of this. Obama is being attacked for spending so much time in the gym (shades of George Bush!), for what he eats, and for his lack of humility.
It will be interesting to see what Obama's campaign come up with to combat this impression of Obama the Weenie. Kerry did not manage to counteract the attacks on him, which stuck.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Why Obama's humourlessness is a danger to his ambitions
The New Yorker's cover hit a sensitive spot, and has drawn cries of outrage from the grimly humourless Obama hordes. The cover incident (covergate?!) highlights a major threat to Obama's ambitions, perhaps even greater than his conscious position-changing antics of the past month: the threat that American voters will not find him entertaining enough.
Claire Rapaille, the renowned cheese-doctor who delves into archetype research in order to find the hidden codes which motivate people of different nations, was asked which of Gore and Bush would win the presidency, based on his analysis of the codes for the American presidency. His findings are described in a May 7, 2000 articles in The New York times: Does the Smell of Coffee Brewing Remind You of Your Mother - New York Times
To quote from the NYT article:
"''Bill Clinton fascinates me,'' he said. ''Americans loved him. Why? Because Clinton made mistakes. It means he was learning something and getting better.''
Rapaille said that in the late 80's, Lee Atwater, then working for George Bush pre, hired him to do an archetype study of the presidency. Though financing ran out before Rapaille could complete his work, he was able to gather useful material in the word-association sessions.
Participants compared the chief executive to a ''movie character''; they said he could ''make people see things.'' From this, Rapaille was able to identify the core emotional nubbin.
Fatherhood? Celebration? Nationalism? No, no. The presidency is: ''cheap entertainment.''
''What does he make, $200,000 a year?'' Rapaille asked. ''That's a lot cheaper than Oprah.'' This code is a problem for the two probable presidential nominees.
''Gore is boring,'' Rapaille said. ''This is a real problem. Bush is not very intelligent. But then, who cares? Americans have never been impressed by intellectuals.'' So Bush's mediocre mind is not nearly the handicap that Gore's leaden personality is. Rapaille gives Bush the edge, but neither one of them interests him much. He openly pines for Bill Clinton the icon (not the politician). Mistakes weren't Clinton's only asset. America's code, according to Rapaille, is built around ''hope.'' That's why Clinton's slogan in 1992 ''was simply brilliant,'' Rapaille said. ''I still believe in a place called ''hope.''' He's almost a genius.'' Clinton had instinctively hit the grand slam of presidential codes. Mistakes. Cheap Entertainment. Hope.""
How does this affect Obama and McCain?
Ask yourself this: who is more entertaining?
In my view, McCain wins this hands down. Obama's uptight behaviour, his lack of smiles and laughter, his unwillingness to admit error at all costs - even when changing positions and policies, the deadly seriousness of his election team and of his smitten fans, make him appear to be lacking in humour, and so far less entertaining than the error-prone McCain.
What should Obama do? Lighten up. Smile. Laugh sometimes. Stop whining so much. Become entertaining ... or, according to the cheese-doctor, he will risk infringing the code for the US presidency - Mistakes, cheap entertainment, hope.
Claire Rapaille, the renowned cheese-doctor who delves into archetype research in order to find the hidden codes which motivate people of different nations, was asked which of Gore and Bush would win the presidency, based on his analysis of the codes for the American presidency. His findings are described in a May 7, 2000 articles in The New York times: Does the Smell of Coffee Brewing Remind You of Your Mother - New York Times
To quote from the NYT article:
"''Bill Clinton fascinates me,'' he said. ''Americans loved him. Why? Because Clinton made mistakes. It means he was learning something and getting better.''
Rapaille said that in the late 80's, Lee Atwater, then working for George Bush pre, hired him to do an archetype study of the presidency. Though financing ran out before Rapaille could complete his work, he was able to gather useful material in the word-association sessions.
Participants compared the chief executive to a ''movie character''; they said he could ''make people see things.'' From this, Rapaille was able to identify the core emotional nubbin.
Fatherhood? Celebration? Nationalism? No, no. The presidency is: ''cheap entertainment.''
''What does he make, $200,000 a year?'' Rapaille asked. ''That's a lot cheaper than Oprah.'' This code is a problem for the two probable presidential nominees.
''Gore is boring,'' Rapaille said. ''This is a real problem. Bush is not very intelligent. But then, who cares? Americans have never been impressed by intellectuals.'' So Bush's mediocre mind is not nearly the handicap that Gore's leaden personality is. Rapaille gives Bush the edge, but neither one of them interests him much. He openly pines for Bill Clinton the icon (not the politician). Mistakes weren't Clinton's only asset. America's code, according to Rapaille, is built around ''hope.'' That's why Clinton's slogan in 1992 ''was simply brilliant,'' Rapaille said. ''I still believe in a place called ''hope.''' He's almost a genius.'' Clinton had instinctively hit the grand slam of presidential codes. Mistakes. Cheap Entertainment. Hope.""
How does this affect Obama and McCain?
Ask yourself this: who is more entertaining?
In my view, McCain wins this hands down. Obama's uptight behaviour, his lack of smiles and laughter, his unwillingness to admit error at all costs - even when changing positions and policies, the deadly seriousness of his election team and of his smitten fans, make him appear to be lacking in humour, and so far less entertaining than the error-prone McCain.
What should Obama do? Lighten up. Smile. Laugh sometimes. Stop whining so much. Become entertaining ... or, according to the cheese-doctor, he will risk infringing the code for the US presidency - Mistakes, cheap entertainment, hope.
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