You've probably never heard of George Lakoff's Rockridge Institute nor political consultant, Drew Westin nor pollster Frank Luntz.
They are the Josef Goebbels of American politics--teaching candidates manipulative propaganda techniques to obfuscate the issues. They replace facts with focus-group and even MRI-tested manipulative phrases. It disgusts me.
We can't ban them but, please, avoid listening to the candidates--they are robots merely mouthing the focus-group tested phrases. Read commentaries from all quarters.
I cited my favorite sites in an earlier post, but here are some recent worthy articles:
FROM A LIBERAL PUBLICATION
The New York Times' comparison of candidates on the issues
Salon's recent take on the Obama and Clinton campaigns.
FROM A CENTRIST PUBLICATION
The Economist's endorsement of Obama for the nomination but not necessarily the presidency.
FROM A CONSERVATIVE PUBLICATION
Charles Krauthammer's support of Clinton for the nomination (in the National Review.)
FROM A LIBERTARIAN PERSPECTIVE
A call for a Libertarian-oriented president by the editor of the libertarian Reason magazine. (This was published in the L.A. Times.)
Friday, May 9, 2008
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2 comments:
If that's true, it wouldn't at all surprise me that they're just saying what they believe or determine people want to hear. They would not last a day if the only words and ideas they could rely on was their own.
All of our leading presidential candidates are US senators. The most recent congressional approval rating is 19%. If I rated that low at my job, I'm fairly certain that I would not have that job much longer. Why do we think that some of our more prominent members of this low-rated congress will do better as our president?
From that point of view, they'd stand no chance. So the only way to sell themselves is to tell us what we want to hear, to appeal to our emotions, which ultimately make the decisions for most of us.
I want to hear what's really happening in Washington. I want to hear what the candidates really expect to do once in power. I do not want mudslinging. I do not want my emotions toyed with. I do not want empty promises. I do not want the same crap in a new election year. But that's what I'm getting, and that's why I'm not into any of the candidates.
I want to hear the truth. I probably won't like it, but I still want and need to hear it. The sooner we face up to the truth as a nation, the sooner we can correct the problems, and I don't believe any of the presidential candidates can do that. They can promise you the moon and stars, but they can't give you honesty.
Anonymous makes a good point. That congressional approval rating is lower than President Bush's approval rating. That says it all.
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