Posted on 09/07/2008 3:04:11 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
What is Sarah Palin? What is her mission? Why did the Republican strategy elite–never known for stupidity or for honor, pick Palin? Palin herself tells us in every speech and interview she gives: “I’m a soccer mom. Do you know the definition of a soccer mom? A pit bull with lipstick.”
Mainstream media wake up: Sarah Palin is telling you: Her role in the campaign is simple: Pit Bull.
By the way, Pit Bull is how she won election in her little town. She won 617-413 based on a campaign that hinged on ideological issues and her proposed ban of liberal books in the local library. After the election she fired the six department heads that worked under her, including the librarian–citing questions about their “loyalty.” From a new piece in Time,
in the first major race of her career — the 1996 campaign for mayor of her hometown, Wasilla — Palin was a far more conventional politician. In fact, according to some who were involved in that fight, Palin was a highly polarizing political figure who brought partisan politics and hot-button social issues like abortion and gun control into a mayoral race that had traditionally been contested like a friendly intramural contest among neighbors.
The mission of the Palin candidacy is to inject sarcasm, hate, poisonous invective into the US Presidential Campaign. Sarah Palin is a carefully-thought-out strategic version of Ann Coulter, Rush, Laura Ingram, Savage, etc. etc. She is a tactical nuclear weapon thrown into presidential politics. Her “debate” with Senator Biden will not be your father’s Oldsmobile (or your mother’s, for that matter). Sarah Palin’s job will be to toss carefully crafted memes like hand-grenades into the collective psyche of the American public.
Sarah Palin is quite likely to succeed, because she is playing a different game than the Democrats and the mainstream media expect. Chris Matthews already is “suprised.” Well, expect more and better of the same. Sarah Palin is not playing “I’m more responsible than you.” She is playing “I’m LESS RESPONSIBLE THAN YOU–AND ISN’T IT FUN!”.
The Republicans are nothing if not strategic when it comes to presidential campaigns. They understand they can only lose on the facts, given the horrible condition in which they have left the country after the Bush presidency. Republicans understand that their only road to the White House,is to sell a dramatic, emotionally-appealing message that at its core is as false as Saddam Hussein and 9/11.
What’s the good news for Republicans? They are quite skilled at selling false ideas.
What is also good news for Republicans, the mainstream press will play along. Tough? Give me a break.
From Glenn Greenwald in Salon, “if there’s one indisputable lesson from the last eight years, it’s that political propaganda works exceedingly well — not despite an aggressively adversarial press but precisely because we don’t have one.”
So what is the Republican strategy for using Sarah Palin? Answer: To sell false ideas.
They have decided to appeal to a part of the electorate that is large, available, unhappy, and uninformed.
Republicans have determined to target working-class white women in swing states. Republicans see correctly that these women are numerous, unhappy, and uninformed.
How have Republicans concluded they can reach this group of voters? Republican propagandists will create a hero, a “real” semi-educated, white woman who can be portrayed as tough enough to ride into battle and win. They will unleash a white pit bull with lipstick. A white pit bull soccer mom that is a little less hot than Ann Coulter, and perhaps just a touch smarter.
What skills does the Republican pit bull need? Political and diplomatic expertise? Responsible leadership experience on the international scene? Understanding of complex organizations? Understanding of government policy and how it affects the nation and the world?
The pit bull needs none of the above skills. The pit bull needs the skills of a talk-show-host. Quick wit, slashing humor, absolute confidence, and ability to cut corners with the facts.
Cue Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin is being “prepared” for media interviews and the debate. The main stream media seems convinced she is being briefed on facts and policies, that she is getting a cram course in how to be Joe Leiberman to the Democrat’s Joe Bidden. Don’t bet on it Chris Matthews. Palin is being prepared with finely tuned attack points, insults, barbs, and character-assassinating innuendo.
The Republicans are making this election about memes. No surprisingly. Selling memes is what Republicans do best. “Go with your strengths.”
Along this line, here is a telling analysis by Sam Harris of one aspect of the current meme game. The question this editorial answers is how Republicans can plausibly expect to sell a completely unqualified person as Vice President of the United States. The answer: “…when it comes time to vest a man or woman with more power and responsibility than any person has held in human history, Americans say they want a regular guy, someone just like themselves.” Translation: It is actually difficult to convince many Americans that there are substantive qualifications for being President.
Thanks to Dave Winer for the link:
Palin: average isn’t good enough - Los Angeles Times McCain not only has thrown all sensible concerns about good governance aside merely to pander to a sliver of female and masses of conservative Christian voters, he has turned this period of American history into an episode of high-stakes reality television: Don’t look now, but our cousin Sarah just became leader of the free world! Tune in next week and watch her get sassy with Pakistan!
Americans have an unhealthy desire to see average people promoted to positions of great authority. No one wants an average neurosurgeon or even an average carpenter, but when it comes time to vest a man or woman with more power and responsibility than any person has held in human history, Americans say they want a regular guy, someone just like themselves. President Bush kept his edge on the “Who would you like to have a beer with?” poll question in 2004, and won reelection.
***************
About the author: Dr. James F. Moore is an expert in leadership and innovation, and former fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Jim is a noted business strategist, and pioneered the concept of “business ecosystems” as an approach to business strategy combining insights from evolutionary and complexity theory, as well as cognitive science. This approach has become a dominant design for strategy-making today.
Jim is a blogger, and is excited to be part of the movement of citizen journalists and open journalism in the United States and around the world.
Jim served for many years as a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School, as a member of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He worked at Harvard to promote digital enterpreneurs in the developing world, particularly in Africa. He was an advisor to the government of South Africa, and was particularly active in the ICT community in Ghana. His special focus was on telecom consolidation and the market power threat of large companies against small companies in Africa. Overall, Jim brought attention to the legal dimension of technology and economic issues in the developing world.
While at Harvard, Jim was a member of the United States Delegation to the G-8 Group of Nations’ Digital Opportunity Task Force and was an advisor to the United Nations ICT Task Force. He was the founding Chair of the Board of Hewlett-Packard’s business unit serving the rural poor, HP World e-Inclusion, and was a member of the United Nations & Markle Foundation Global Digital Opportunity Initiative, and of its e-strategy consultation to the South African government.
In the spring of 2003 Jim wrote The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head which explores how citizens worldwide might join through communications technology, engage international institutions, and become a transnational “second superpower” to dialogue with governments and help set global policy. Many interesting questions are raised in the process of exploring how to make this admittedly far-flung idea real. How can we best use the Internet and other communications media to promote global citizen participation? How can the relationship between global citizens and international institutions be expanded and made more effective? What is the role for “emergent democracy” and NGOs and other citizens’ groups in shaping society? Jim was honored by the 4th World Forum on e-Democracy as one of the top 25 individuals, organizations and companies that are having the greatest impact on the way the Internet is changing politics, for the publication of this paper.
In the Winter of 2003, 2004 Jim took temporary leave from Harvard and served as Director of Internet and Information Services for the Howard Dean campaign for US President, a campaign that innovated many new approaches to the use of the Internet for large-scale political communication and organizing.
From 1990 to 1999 Jim was the founder and Chairman and CEO of GeoPartners Research, a strategy consulting and investment firm. GeoPartners advised and invested in small entrepreneurial companies, as well as advising large companies whose strategies required change in large scale systems. The later included AT&T, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Intel, Intel Capital, Hewlett-Packard, Softbank Group, Qualcomm, Motorola, Johnson & Johnson, Jim Henson Productions, GE Capital, and Royal Dutch Shell.
Jim authored the best-selling book The Death of Competition: Leadership and Strategy in the Age of Business Ecosystems (HarperBusiness, 1996). The Wall Street Journal awarded the book five stars and selected it as one of the top books for entrepreneurs published this decade. His earlier Harvard Business Review article “Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition” won the McKinsey Award for best article of 1993. Jim’s writing has been published in a variety of periodicals ranging from Foreign Affairs to The New York Times, Fortune and Fast Company. For many years Jim authored a regular column in Upside, the original Silicon Valley technology business magazine.
Jim believes that one of the most powerful ways to understand leadership and strategy is to analyze the thought patterns, metaphors, and analytical techniques of leaders and leading teams themselves, and understand their success in the context of the organizations and markets in which they participate. Thus Jim made a substantial personal investment in understanding cognition and organizations. He earned a doctorate in Human Development (clinical developmental psychology) from Harvard University in 1983. He worked closely with Donald Schon of MIT, one of the world’s experts at “reflective practice.” Jim conducted research and worked closely with C. Roland Christensen of Harvard Business School, one of the founders of modern business strategy. Jim continued his research as a Post-doctoral Fellow in Organizations at Stanford University in 1983-84, and as a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Business School in 1984-85. In 1984 Jim joined with John Sviokla, then a doctoral candidate and subsequently a faculty member at the school, to found the Center for Expert Systems to address strategy and cognition in business. CES helped develop the core strategic thinking that informed the founding of GeoPartners as a strategy consultancy in 1990.
He attended Williams College (Massachusetts) and earned his undergraduate degree from The Evergreen State College (Washington) in 1975. Jim remains active as an Evergreen alumni, has served as a member of the board of the alumni endowments, and has received Evergreen’s lifetime award for his work on behalf of the school.
Jim contributes time to initiatives in the human rights and global health and economic development arenas. Jim is an active supporter of the Harvard School of Public Health, a former Chair of its Advisory Board on Society and Health, and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Harvard AIDS Institute, which works primarily with AIDS in Africa. He is a member of the Leadership Council of Amnesty International USA.
Speaking as a graduate of one of those institutions some years ago, I could not be more in agreement with you!
Ha haaaaa!!!
Typical crybaby Liberals. They can dish it out but they can't take it.
Good one!
Maybe he is projecting on behalf of Hillary and Michelle.
The opinions of Harvard pillow biters mean nothing.
Liberals are the most sexist snobs. They are the most hatefilled, vile creatures. If Saraha Palin put a (D) next to her name they would be eating this up, but because she is a Republican, they hate her.
Sick of these people. They deserve no respect.
Bleh. I got to the “fat legs” part and had to quit. Is he confusing Palin with Hildabeast?
Ghey?
I believe that is where our famous pro-muslim bull dozer catcher went to school also.
Harvard huh? They have diminished beneath the fabric.
Comments are closed...what a poodle.
I guess Harvard DUmmies are getting tired of Osama making them look like boneheads.
Projection, Mr. Watson, pure projection.
Re: Palin herself tells us in every speech and interview she gives: “I’m a soccer mom. Do you know the definition of a soccer mom? A pit bull with lipstick.”
The very least he could do is to get her quote correct.
And this clown is going to Harvard????
There doesn’t even look to be a place to email this clown.
‘Strewth! “Jim” has a flippin’ biography that is almost as long as his article! It even tells us “Jim’s” favorite breakfast cereal AND his dog’s name!
Crikey! I sure am glad a qualified pointy-headed academic like “Jim” is analyzing the next VP of the United States!
more petty character and physical assasination
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.