Friday, September 10, 2004
Thoughts on the stickability of current shitstorm
Rat writes:
On Bush & the Guard:
The story in and of itself may not be damaging. Still, the meme seeps into the public's consciousness. If the Dems can make the Guard story a data point in a broader narrative -- about Bush's "unreliability," say -- the story could damage Bush. Polls that say the National Guard story isn't important miss this possibility. The next time Kerry claims that Bush "lied" -- in quotation marks to observe the possibility of spin -- people will remember the "lying" in the National Guard story. With repetition, charges, as the Swift Boat people proved, become relevant whether or not they're true.
Giuseppe Abote replies:
Yes, there has to be a larger context. Bush is a shirker of all sorts of responsibilities. Responsibility for serving in the guard. Responsibility for keeping the country safe before 9/11. Responsiblity for lying about Iraq. Responsiblity for the miscalculations there. Responsiblity, in general, for any of the words coming from his mouth. He's a dull-witted child of privilege. Responsibility means nothing to him.
In the short term, the Guard story helps (even with these forgery claims) because it makes Bush passive. There is a battle of personalities going on here in addition to a battle over issues and facts. Kerry has to show that he can stand up to the bully. When the White House whined that Kerry was behind these attacks, they must have been high-fiving in Kerry HQ.
posted by Blicero : 9/10/2004 05:38:00 PM
On Bush & the Guard:
The story in and of itself may not be damaging. Still, the meme seeps into the public's consciousness. If the Dems can make the Guard story a data point in a broader narrative -- about Bush's "unreliability," say -- the story could damage Bush. Polls that say the National Guard story isn't important miss this possibility. The next time Kerry claims that Bush "lied" -- in quotation marks to observe the possibility of spin -- people will remember the "lying" in the National Guard story. With repetition, charges, as the Swift Boat people proved, become relevant whether or not they're true.
Giuseppe Abote replies:
Yes, there has to be a larger context. Bush is a shirker of all sorts of responsibilities. Responsibility for serving in the guard. Responsibility for keeping the country safe before 9/11. Responsiblity for lying about Iraq. Responsiblity for the miscalculations there. Responsiblity, in general, for any of the words coming from his mouth. He's a dull-witted child of privilege. Responsibility means nothing to him.
In the short term, the Guard story helps (even with these forgery claims) because it makes Bush passive. There is a battle of personalities going on here in addition to a battle over issues and facts. Kerry has to show that he can stand up to the bully. When the White House whined that Kerry was behind these attacks, they must have been high-fiving in Kerry HQ.
posted by Blicero : 9/10/2004 05:38:00 PM
