Posted on 08/29/2004 3:56:22 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
It was a bittersweet pleasure to go on-air Friday for two hours with my friend Jerry Agar, WPTF afternoon drivetime, from Raleigh to most of North Carolina and parts of states north and south of there. This was our last sit-down, since Jerry is moving to KMBZ in Kansas City, a larger market that wants a quick, intelligent voice from the conservative side of the spectrum.
We spent 45 minutes of our time talking about the Swift Boat controversy involving John Kerry. The phones lit up, and so did the computer screen with e-mails. Both the calls and the e-mails represented all sides of the issue. On a quality talk show, the host (and guest) can have strong opinions, but those who disagree will still call and write, confident they will get a fair hearing.
There’s a whole lot of common sense and plain unvarnished reality among the listeners to any intelligent, articulate radio talk show. That leads me to suggest an amendment to the Constitution to improve the quality of future presidential candidates. Of course we want candidates who are honest, intelligent and dedicated – regardless of their politics or party. But there just isn’t a way to test for such things.
Here’s a test that could serve as a surrogate. Pass a constitutional amendment that no one could run for President until he or she had done 30 hours on major talk shows located anywhere except inside the Washington Beltway. No matter whether the host is liberal or conservative, all talk shows of any popularity have a sub-base of contrarian listeners and participants.
In the town meeting events held by presidential candidates, producers usually screen participants to avoid difficult questions from cantankerous people. But talk shows (unless the producer/editor on the phones is both stupid and dishonest) will have a range of callers. And the Good Lord knows that the subjects raised will vary all over the lot. When I began in talk radio in 1968 with Chuck Boyles on WBAL in Baltimore, the strangest type of calls on odd subjects were referred to as “cat-up-a-tree calls.” Anyway, a presidential candidate who faced 30 hours of calls from ordinary citizens would have to display grace, intelligence, knowledge, and a measure of courage. Those aren’t exactly bad characteristics for anyone who would be President.
And if John Kerry had ever dealt with an electronic roomful of ordinary Americans like that, he might not have made the fatal planning error that has doomed his run for office this year. The callers to Jerry Agar’s Show last Friday would have given Kerry better advice than he gave himself, or than he got from his high-priced consultants.
Most, but not all, of the veterans who contacted Jerry’s show last Friday were harshly opposed to John Kerry for what he did in Vietnam, but especially for what he said once he returned home. Equally important were calls from people who never served in the military, and were heavily anti-war. One man said that he was “in the demonstrations during the 1968 Democratic Convention.” I remember those beatings and gassings from watching them on TV. From self-validating details, I believe that gentleman was where he said he was, and did what he said he did.
The fascinating aspect is that the anti-war caller and one of the veterans actually agreed on this point – both would have supported Kerry if he had returned from Vietnam and attacked just the political leaders who were conducting the Vietnam War. Neither of those gentlemen are supporting John Kerry for President now, precisely because of his attacks on the individual American servicemen when he returned.
There are two dispositive factors about the issues in any election. The first is obvious: how many people agree with your (you, the candidate’s) position on an issue, as opposed to how many disagree. But in an era where voter turnout will again be slightly more than half, the other factor can be more important. That factor is intensity. How strong are the feelings of your supporters, compared to the strengths of the opposition?
Stronger supporters of a candidate, or of the issues of a candidate, are more likely to turn out and vote, more likely to give money or time, more likely to encourage others to vote the same way, etc. The passion and dedication of the veterans who believe John Kerry is unfit to command are far ahead of the passion and dedication of the fewer veterans who believe Kerry is fit to be President. That single difference, in my opinion, means that John Kerry’s campaign is now dead, and by his own hand.
Here’s why: There are about eight million veterans of the Vietnam era, about half having served in country. In addition, there are about 16 million veterans of other eras, living today. These 24 million men, and some women, live in every city, town and hamlet. They work in every business, organization, and civic association. They are members of almost every family in the United States. Among these veterans, support for George Bush was just 4% more than for John Kerry, before the Swift Boat Vets for Truth began their advertising campaign. Today, the Bush margin among veterans has grown to about 24%, or almost 2-1 over Kerry (62-38).
I spent Saturday visiting with Randy Wootton, a lifelong friend who has a marketing firm in Atlanta. We talked about what Kerry did wrong in the planning of his campaign -- the Vietnam ploy. We discussed the most powerful form of communication for or against any product, service, or candidate. In the trade it’s called “viral communications.” Us ordinary folks refer to that as word of mouth. If ordinary people start telling their friends and neighbors to “go see this movie” or “go vote for this candidate,” then that movie or that candidate will soon be in high cotton. But viral communications also can work negatively. A movie, candidate, whatever, which is bad-mouthed person to person cannot be salvaged by advertising and pronouncements at the national and public level. That is Kerry’s position right now.
And it gets worse. When A tells B about a movie, one person’s opinion has no greater value than another’s. But what happens when the subject is the military service of a candidate for President? If A is a military veteran, giving his opinion to B who is not a veteran, THAT word of mouth will be even more effective than usual.
As a friend of mine said in an e-mail at 2 a.m. last Wednesday, this is now a “water cooler election.” George Bush, as the incumbent President, is a known commodity. The last equation in this election is whether John Kerry is seen as fit, or unfit, to replace Bush, among those voters who already think that a change might be in order. At the grassroots level, the word is spreading like wildfire that Kerry is unfit (at a 2-1 rate) to independent and undecided voters.
What if Senator Kerry had called a press conference three years ago to announce that he had “made some mistakes” in his service in Vietnam and later in his testimony before Senator Fullbright’s Committee on returning home? What if Kerry had given examples of those mistakes at that conference? The press would have largely ignored that conference, because after all, “Who still cares about Vietnam?” Kerry, who knew then that he intended to run for President in 2004, could have turned this entire subject into “old news.”
But apparently Kerry had already decided, along with his high-powered, top-dollar, experienced advisors, that he was going to feature his Vietnam experience. Rather than set it aside and deal with more recent subjects, Kerry decided to hang his campaign hat on his four months and 12 days on Swift Boats in Vietnam. His representatives forced that subject into the speeches of most people at the Democratic Convention. Kerry himself slammed the point home from his opening salute to the final paragraphs of his speech accepting the nomination. When John Kerry sat down after that speech, his campaign was already doomed to defeat.
When the Captain of the Titanic ordered 21 knots in the North Atlantic where icebergs had been reported, his ship was doomed. When General Lee ordered Pickett’s charge into the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg, his cause was doomed. If you prefer examples that involve the death of ambitions, rather than human beings, try these: When the Coca-Cola Company introduced “New Coke,” the effort was doomed before the first ads ran. Or when Gary Hart told the press, “You can follow me,” his campaign was doomed.
In every instance, the questions the person in charge failed to ask and answer were these: What’s the worst that can happen to me and my cause? And, how can I avoid that fate? Kerry failed to ask and answer those questions. And now his candidacy is doomed by an insolvable, self-created problem.
In each Presidential Election, I predict the outcome as soon as I am reasonably confident of it. Yes, alert readers will point out with amusement that I’ve done that once before in 2004. Before the Iowa Primary, I looked at Howard Dean’s unusual and successful organization, at his fund-raising, and at the nature of the Democratic voters there and in New Hampshire. I concluded Dean would win both states, cruise to his party’s nomination, and then get trounced by George Bush. But enough about my former triumphs as a prognosticator.
It isn’t necessary to wait until the end of the Republican Convention to make this year’s predictions. Bush will have a 5% lead after the Convention. That will increase to 10% by November 2, and the Electoral College results will be a landslide for Bush. At the same time, the Republicans will gain 2 seats in the Senate, and 11 seats in the House.
Outside Washington, Republicans will gain one Governorship, 121 seats in the various state legislatures, and a substantial number of other state and local offices. Lastly, all these specific predictions are minimums. Any results that don’t match my predictions should be greater than my numbers. If not, label me wrong again. And you won’t have to phone me up; I’ll call the fouls on myself.
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About the Author: John Armor is a civil rights attorney who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. CongressmanBillybob@earthlink.net
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Librals are different from Conservatives in ways that go beyond political differences. Liberals have a different psychological outlook. They're more driven by emotion. Kerry's tactic of whining and claiming to be the victim of smear campaigns no doubt worked in liberal Massachusetts. Kerry's whines were greeted with an emotional response by the liberal voters, who rallied around the poor little baby "victim". But that ploy doesn't work in Missouri, or North Carolina, or Ohio. Voters in those states see Kerry whining and say to themselves, "Damn, what a crybaby!"
Hari Seldon knows, ask him.
You wrote:
"Hari Seldon knows, ask him."
Welcome to a different thread than I remember
seeing you on, Wonder.
No flame, but I haven't read any of the Foundation
series. OTOH, I had a secret crush on Susan Calvin
as a teenager :-)
Pish tosh and tut tut! Your education is sorely lacking! Get thee to a library and correct your deficiency!! (but don't bother with any but the first three volumes).
Toast = toilet paper browned on both sides
Congratulations on your granddaughter, and an excellent article!
Bookmark.
Do SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Do what Reagan did - GO AROUND THEM AND GO DIRECTLY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!
Get your own "EXPOSE KERRY'S FRAUD SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH" STICKER!
I put this sticker on my truck the other day. I get lots of honks and 'thumbs up'!
The sticker serves 3 purposes:
1 - Shows visible support for "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" to passing motorists, (encourages our side discourages the libs).
2 - Gets the swiftvets.com website visible to the public, so they can and find out more about 'Hanoi John' Kerry.
3 - Circumvents the lamestream media BIAS filter!
Made by fellow FReeper disabled vet who has a bone to pick with Kerry, like we all do!
Large (24" Wide 12" Tall) $20 (like mine above)
Small (12" Wide 6" Tall) $10
Profits go to SwiftVets.com
Ping your FRiends, let 'em know about this!
FReep mail / private reply for details on how you can get one for your vehicle!
Can you be sure of a landslide prediction for Bush when he keeps screwing conservatives? Furthermore, I've heard tell that the Swift Vet ads and so on could spell doom for the Republicans (i.e., the "mean-spiritedness" or "base tactics" of questioning sKerry's war record could cause Bush to lose the election).
Swear to God, Z-92 FM in Omaha, Nebraska was provided a radio tape for when Bob Kerry was the govenor of Nebraska. Kerry was on an AM call in station and the caller asked him if he was b*ttf***ing Debra Winger.
Funniest thing I've ever heard and it made it past the producer.
Their website is www.z92.com and I'm not sure if they have it
We're getting a "prime time" conservative host? Yippie!!!! I'm assuming that he'll be taking over for Tom Bekka's show. I was never all that crazy about him... But they've brought in Mike Shanin as the temp host, and I've always like Mike. Especially when they had someone a bit more ascerbic partnering with him, like Jerry Fogel and Dave Dawson...
It will be nice to have a daytime conservative host.
Mark
Mark
Yeah, the PD is a Boortz fan, maybe we could get him back here. I used to produce for Jerry Fogel, and was fill-in producing last week for Mike Shanin.
I hope so! I listen to Neal when I can on the Internet, and his NealzNuze page is my web browser home page.
I remember Mike and Jerry on KNHN (I think), and I had a run in with them about the Brady Bill before it was passed. I actually drove down to that hotel that they used to broadcast out of, and delivered them some documentation that I had against it, but Jerry and Mike didn't see anything wrong with the bill. One of the few major disagreements I had with them... But still, I really miss Dave Dawson! Damn he was funny. I really loved his conversations with Chuck Harder!
Mark
You didn't figure on Kerry getting a six million dollar gift from his bank's appraisers, so you can be forgiven... ;-)
Interesting musing, but the concept is diametrically in opposition to the core of leftism and is therefore impossible. The left cannot abide open, unscripted dialog. As you know, even among the the sincere, true believers of the left, truth is a subjective thing, and needs to be managed so that one can discern the "truth" in the right context. This of course takes the form of talking points, obfuscation, and so on. The leftist does not take the world as he finds it. Rather he selects and connects events and facts that will support leftist social theory. Leftist social theory ultimately claims progress toward some form of earthly paradise. As objective facts fail to support progress toward this goal, the Leftist must continuously shift emphasis onto a set of new facts that support a perpetually revisionist history.
Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to believe in objective truths, rather than theory. This is exemplified by their general disposition to have faith in markets rather than in planned economies. As Russell Kirk has pointed out, "conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability.... To seek for utopia is to end in disaster.... All that we reasonably can expect is a tolerably ordered, just, and free society, in which some evils, maladjustments, and suffering will continue to lurk. By proper attention and prudent reform, we may preserve and improve this tolerable order.... The ideologues who promise the perfection of man and society have converted a great part of the twentieth-century world into a terrestrial hell."
Given this distinction, since the left preaches perfectibility, in an unperfectable world, talk radio is naturally going to lead to, shall we say, a preponderance of awkward moments. The conservatives will naturally have an easier time. Or, as Francis Bacon aptly puts it; "The man who fears no truth has nothing to fear from lies."
Cordially,
Huber
Outside Washington, Republicans will gain one Governorship, 121 seats in the various state legislatures, and a substantial number of other state and local offices. Lastly, all these specific predictions are minimums. Any results that don’t match my predictions should be greater than my numbers. If not, label me wrong again. And you won’t have to phone me up; I’ll call the fouls on myself.
I too have been thinking President Bush by 9%, perhaps as high as 11%. I've got your post saved, we'll see how we did in November.
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