02.20.08

Image, perception and the politics of fear

Posted in Politics at 9:04 am by Administrator

In the political battle over image in the democratic presidential campaign, it appears Barack Obama is winning, as he chalks up his ninth victory in a row in Wisconsin. His confidence is growing. As has been argued by Andrew Sullivan and others, Obama himself, represents a conduit to change, his image and leadership could push policy in a positive direction.

Obama is preaching that it takes all of us together to solve our problems as opposed to preaching the politics of us versus them. In Texas, last night he trotted more policy prescriptions to go with hope. By contrast, in her comments tonight, as quoted by The New York Times, Clinton played on people’s fears, a tactic that seemed to work in George W. Bush’s favor, under the orchestrations of Karl Rove.

“This is the choice we face: One of us is ready to be commander in chief in a dangerous world,” Mrs. Clinton said in the remarks, which she also planned to expand upon in a speech in New York City on Wednesday. “One of us has faced serious Republican opposition in the past — and one of us is ready to do it again.”

She implies that Obama is ill-equipped to handle the terrorist threat and deal with Republican dirty tricks. Obama as the nominee, she fears and wants us to fear, is too naive to handle the bad guys in the Middle East and Afghanistan and the bad guys in the other party.

To motivate by fear as any parent or coach can tell you, is effective in the short term, and perhaps in a short election these tactics might work. But the longer this drags on, it gives Obama an edge I think, because hopemongering, with a request for hard work and accountability is something people can buy into long term. Obama’s way may take awhile but it may be the only way. Tough political negotiating is part of the game of course, but if your core values are sound it doesn’t have to disintegrate into cyncism and conning the American people.

A Republican ex-girlfriend of mine called Obama an “empty vessel,” implying that he can give an inspiring speech but lacks the experience and substance to lead the country. She can’t stand McCain and is almost turning to Hillary. In the news cycle, the image you project is your message, your actual message is secondary. For some people there is no there, there. They have nothing beyond the image (see Paris Hilton, Britney Spears). Image (I’m rich, I’m funny, I’m hot, I’m smart, I’m a bad ass; I’m poor, I’m grumpy, I need a makeover, I’m a dumb blonde, I’m a wimp), is just a snapshot, that is only a snippet of truth to make an impression. Obama’s image seems genuine, he is a class act. While he spoke in Seattle he stopped in mid-speech to direct people to help a woman who had fainted in the front row. Afterward he went out and pulled out a megaphone to talk to the several thousand supporters who could not get into Key Arena. There are moments where journalists have been treated shabbily by the Obama campaign, the message being that journalists are “not real people,” and don’t get special privileges. I think the point there is that the Obama campaign wants as much of its message to be filtered through the campaign as opposed to having it being dissected and filtered by the media. There is always a tension there.

Obama’s message as he gains steam, might be becoming more detailed as things roll on. But the key thing is that he trying to motivate by hope and love rather than fear and personal attacks. Is that a winning formula for a political campaign? Time will tell.

But if you consider some of the most admired people of the last century, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. they motivated people not by fear, but by duty, hope, sacrifice and love.

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