Clinton was a genius at working the middle, where national elections are won. Daschle, Gephardt, McAuliffe are attack dogs, throwing red meat to the faithful, and they can't get beyond that.
However that doesn't mean some other dem won't by 2004, and red meat=turnout, which is critical in an off year. We could use someone in a role like that instead of Trent.
BTW, the Bush pic was great, millions of impressions on TV, and I bet no one, other than dem loyalists, paid attention to what it was about, just a great visual.
This is from the angry Gore partisan site The Daily Howler, but who really cares about the source:
Dick Darman clued in Lesley Stahl—it's all about the pictures. During the 1984 presidential campaign, Stahl aired a lengthy report on the CBS Evening News; it was broadly critical of President Reagan. In her recent book, Reporting Live, Stahl described her thoughts as the piece went to air:
STAHL (page 210): I knew the piece would have an impact, if only because it was so long: five minutes and 40 seconds, practically a documentary in Evening News terms. I worried that my sources at the White House would be angry enough to freeze me out.
But that isn't what happened, she says. When the piece aired, Darman called from the White House. "Way to go, kiddo," he said to Stahl. "What a great piece. We loved it." Stahl replied, "Didn't you hear what I said [in the broadcast]?" Darman's answer has been frequently quoted:
STAHL: [Darman replied,] "Nobody heard what you said."
Did I hear him right? "Come again?"
"You guys in Televisionland haven't figured it out, have you? When the pictures are powerful and emotional, they override if not completely drown out the sound. I mean it, Lesley. Nobody heard you."
Stahl's critical report about President Reagan had been accompanied by generally upbeat visuals. According to Darman's theory, the pictures registered more with viewers than anything Stahl had said.Darman was right. The video was of things like Reagan riding his horse and smiling and waving at the GOP convention; if you had the sound turned down you'd have thought it was a eulogy.
In short, SJackson, you're absolutely right.
In his book Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy, James Fallows shows how TV images smother speech with an anecdote about a CBS reporter doing a story on President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The reporter, Lesley Stahl, had documented the contradiction between what Reagan said and what he did by showing him speaking at the Special Olympics and at a nursing home while reporting that Reagan had cut funding to children with disabilities and opposed funding for public health. After Stahl's piece was broadcast, she got a call from a White House official, who praised her. Surprised by the compliments, She asked the White House official why he wasn't upset, pointing out that her piece had nailed the president. The official replied:"You television people still don't get it. No one heard what you said. Don't you people realize that the picture is all that counts. A powerful picture drowns out the words."
And the middle that Bush is appealing to is getting larger, because his message is authentic, like Reagan's.
Speaking of the Bush pic(s), you can get your own copy for $150 or more the following ways:
A) Call 202-478-4425 during work hours and order over the phone
B) Fax name, mailing address, phone #, credit card info and amount to 202-478-4422 or
C) Send a check to: 2002 President's Dinner; Box 172; Washington DC, 20013
I hope sales go through the ROOF!!