Steyn: The doer defeated the droner (6)
Posted on 06 October 2008 by Jack
Back in February, several political lifetimes ago, I was on the radio with Laura Ingraham, and she played Stevie Wonder’s campaign song for Barack Obama, whose lyric, in its entirety, runs:
“Ba-rack O-ba-ma
Ba-a-rack O-ba-a-ma
Ba-ra-ack Obama-a …”
(Repeat until coronation.)
Laura and I had a good laugh about it, until it occurred to me that, in politics as in pop, the tune is more important than the words. A guy can run for president with all the right lyrics – on the war, the economy, the social issues – but what matters is whether people respond to the underlying music: not what he’s saying, but how he’s saying it. At the time, I was reflecting on Mitt Romney: The song looked great on paper, but when he stuck it on the stand and started to warble it never quite soared.
That’s where Sarah Palin scored in the vice-presidential showdown. A lot of the grandees in the post-debate analysis reviewed the lyrics and missed the music. Whereas, I would wager, a big chunk of uncommitted voters out in TV land listened to Gov. Palin, and liked the tune they were hearing. If you’re one of those coastal feminists who despise Alaska’s sweetheart as a chillbilly breeder whose knowledge of foreign policy is as full of holes as the last moose to make the mistake of strolling past her deck, Thursday night’s folksy performance isn’t going to change your view. But, if your contempt for her wasn’t already chiseled in granite, she came over as genuine, confident …and different. Change you can believe in, to coin a phrase.
Update: Rove: Palin, McCain and the Weeks Ahead
Update: Biden’s Fantasy World
Update: The Ayers Question
Update: PALIN AGAIN HAMMERS OBAMA OVER AYERS
Update: Who is Bill Ayres? Wikipedia (not the best resource) has an entry that will fill in some of the details. More info on the RNC website. Look for fireworks in the days ahead. It’s going to be like the 4th of July for the next month.
Note: It’s 7:17 pm here and because I now have my partisan base well stirred up with no small amount of help from Sarah I shall leave.
Goodnight everyone.
Popularity: 19% [?]
October 6th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I’m not sure why seemingly intelligent people like Steyn keep falling for the idea that Palin is an underdog. She’s being pitched as “mom as apple pie” which is going to have a WWE effect on all the yokels who are fearful of Barrack and those many attributes they do not like which we do not need to discuss yet again.
Put it this way - who’s going to have a harder time walking into a country bar … Palin or Obama? Now you know where those votes are going.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Missed your point there, Cynapse. Its early here, and ive only had one coffee so far.
I should point out a couple of things while i continue to try to figure out your post.
“Sarah Barracuda”, “pit bull with lipstick” does not sound like “Mom and apple pie” , although there is an element of that to her personna as well.
Secondly, having read all i can find about Obama, I cannot find anything that shows his abilities as a Chief Executive.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Sarah is being pitched as “all American”. “Pit bull with lipstick” is “mom with apple pie” when you’re talking about American jignoism. Generally speaking, Americans are very aggressive nationalists and her aggression (ie “I’m not a soft liberal”) plays into that image perfectly.
Even if Obama tried to pitch himself as the hyper-patriot who chanted “USA USA” he would fail because he does not look or sound the part - plus he’s an intellectual Democrat.
The Republicans are using a WWE strategy (Sarah Barracuda even SOUNDS like a wrestler) of appealing to the fears of the lowest common denominator and it’s the only thing that’s keeping them in the race. They still can win it, in fact.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I should add that it’s mostly just that - an image. Otherwise, the Repubs and their bloggers wouldn’t be shielding Sarah fanatically against the media and anyone else who might ask her a tough question.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Like those tough questions they are asking The Messiah, Cynapse?
October 6th, 2008 at 11:34 am
As I recall, Mr Obama sat down with Bill O’Reilly, about the most staunch conservative with wide distribution. Obama’s been grilled over Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, his crooked financier and whether his wife loves America.
Palin says she won’t cooperate with a probe over her own corruption and no one blinks. Her meetings with world leaders are ultra-supervised with limited press access.
Obama is called names with questionable subtext (like “The Messiah”) and parodied on waffle boxes in a Steppin Fetchit fashion most people thought died along with segregation. No one on the right blinked. Sarah gets prodded about her executive experience and suddenly the big, bad media is “beating up on the poor little lady” (otherwise known as “Sarah Barracuda” when delivering scripted insults to pre-approving audiences).
Obama has received 10x more scrutiny than Palin. She’s merely received 10x more media attention (given how long she’s been on the scene).
October 6th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
“Obama has received 10x more scrutiny than Palin.”
Cynapse, that assertion is patently false. As for Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Obama, granted O’Reilly was the most straight forward questioner Obama has faced in this campaign, but, in my opinion at least, it was by no means as ‘investigative’ as it could have and should have been. Even O’Reilly has admitted that if he’d had more time he would have dug a ‘little deeper’. Neither did he resort to the sort of menaingless ‘gotcha’ questions the likes of a smirking so proud of herself Katie Koric resorted to with Palin.
October 6th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Prove it’s false. Also demonstrate a time when Obama declared “I’m not cooperating” and everyone said “ok”.
October 6th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Come on Cynapse, a member of the editorial staff of the NYT emailed Instapundit and admitted they were in the tank for The Messiah.
The Messiah gets a pass on every flip flop, lie, distortion, smear and his lack of experience from the American MSM.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Virtually every FOX correspondent is in the tank for McCain and worships Palin as a deity. They act virtually like a blog in their pre-emptive defense of every expected gaffe and incongruency. The National Post is the same. Also some of the UK papers.
Point: every news source has its bias, especially in an age where information is second to validation of the reader’s bias. For every source you can raise that favours Obama, there is one that favours Palin. As an American colleague once said to me, we rarely acknowledge the prejudice in our favour.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
The people who really count in this election believe this…..
“Americans Overwhelmingly Believe Media Are Liberally Biased”
Yet, here’s a stunner that is sure to rattle the nerves of liberals everywhere:
“When it comes to delivering news without bias, 37% believe NPR accomplishes that goal. Thirty-six percent (36%) say the same for Fox and 32% believe it’s true of CNN.”
“So, almost the same number of people who think that NPR is fair and balanced feel the same about Fox. Maybe the Democrats should start boycotting NPR, too.”
“Can you imagine the intellectual capacity of someone who believes that ABC, CBS, and NBC are conservatively biased? Must be the same people who think Michael Moore’s films are actually documentaries, and Al Gore is more qualified to make climate prognostications than accredited meteorologists and climatologists.”
http://newsbusters.org/node/14107
October 6th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Jack, what is wrong with NB TORY LADY blog site- it seemed to have disappeared
About Sarah Palin, I wish she was here, man she will eat the CBC and the MSM for breakfast. She did it to CNN and for that they went after her. CBC CNN both have a ‘HIDDEN AGENDA’
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
“Jack, what is wrong with NB TORY LADY blog site”…looks like she took it down. Maybe she’s doing a redesign…I don’t know.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
The best part BTDT is that you quoted it from NewsBusters. Will let you work that one out on your own time.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
And all news sources will have a “hidden agenda” to the lot of you until they’re as blatantly partisan as this comment section. Then they will be deemed by someone else to have a “hidden agenda”.
Generally speaking, a good news source will be hated by everyone because it fails to glorify their holy cows. BBC is still the closest to that bill.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I agree that all news sources are bias, some much more than others though and therein lies the big difference. Hidden agendas? Some for sure, maybe even most, but not all.
The BBC a credible news source? Oh my, you’re much further along than I would ever have thought.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
BTDT, I’ve seen some of the sites you visit. No doubt they would hate BBC. For anyone interested in INFORMATION it can’t be beaten. It won’t soothe the neo-con beast, though. I’m not interested in what ancient culture the hillbillies want to destroy next. I want to know what’s going on. You’re not going to get that from FOX. Find me ONE news source that provides more credible information, sir.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
It would be improper not to offer an example …
MP3 Documentary: Is Al Qaeda Winning?
Part 1
Part 2
This is useful. May not validate your feelings but it is at least reasonably close to what is the likely truth.