Are We Done Yet?
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in 2008 Election, DemocratsI’m a political junkie, I admit it. I don’t think there’s a cure. But if there were a 12-step program, it’d look something like the Democratic primary race. Good God, is this thing over yet? I really don’t know how many more election returns I can watch. Even the talking heads at CNN and MSNBC are looking bored. I don’t think John King even likes his fancy touch-screen anymore. Keith Olbermann isn’t even able to amuse himself. It’s sad.
Despite all the talk about this being a bitter contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the problem is that it’s been far too vanilla. The candidate’s fights have been over petty matters because there’s only one substantive policy difference between them – the gas tax. So we’ve slogged through months of each candidate trying to grab a tiny bit more of the other’s supporters – not with bold ideas or vicious attacks but with tiny maneuvers and premeditated slights.
Those of us who talk about this kind of thing, have generally been left to play “watch the polls†or comment endlessly on issues secondary to how these candidates would actually run the country. Rev. Wright or the “Bosnia incident†may tell us something about Obama’s and Clinton’s inner workings but they tell us little about how they’ll actually pay for their healthcare plans during a stagnating economy.
They both say “raise taxes on the rich and the oil companies and end the war.†O.k., but will that actually work? John McCain is proposing alternatives but the media has marginalized his voice so they can cover the Democratic horserace. I’m ready for us to move on to the general election so we can actually have opposing views on issues instead of the exact same views couched either in “I have the experience†or “I have the hope†rhetoric.
Maybe last night will help bring this thing to an end. I’m ready for it.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Democrats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:49 am
Alan
You can look as hard as you want for positive McCain things, but for every positive there is an equally positive negative to exploit, that’s part of the problem with being a fence straddling, life-time government employee, BS artist. If things stay as they are, McCain is going to be taken apart in the next 6 months – and then beaten within an inch of his political life in November. Remember these words – “Democratic Super Majority”. It’s inevitable.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:55 am
[...] « Are We Done Yet? [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 9:57 am
If you’ve spent some time on my blog, you know that I believe that tone is one of the greatest tools of speech communication. While mine is not a political blog, I find that the political season provides an incredible speech-making laboratory. So I strapped myself in last night for what I knew would be a good night of speech-making, and a night when tone would necessarily rule.
Pundits had hedged their bets on the outcome of the races in Indiana and North Carolina. If Senator Clinton won both, she’d come out swinging. If Senator Obama won both, he would wear the mantle of victory and need to be humble and concillatory. In the end, he almost got what he needed, and she didn’t come close. Niether got what was required to (pardon what has become so cliche) “close the dealâ€. So the time had come for both to walk the tight-rope of tone.
I was struck by how similar the tones were. Because he didn’t say he won, and she didn’t say she lost, they landed in the middle and – for the first time in months – they sounded like they were on the same team. As a communications coach, I am always listening for the hidden incendiary words; the veiled threats. I heard none. It’s been a long time since both sounded respectful of the other. Both attempted to inspire, while not over-promise. In both speeches, the tone was appropriate. Both candidates used the powerful tool of tone to convey that the party really does have a chance to heal.
Did you hear it too?