The Unplayed Race Card
By now it is clear that the Obama magic is irretrievably lost. His policy agenda has been socialistic class warfare that has lead to an inevitable reaction. Previously inert people have become citizens and their power is about to overwhelm Washington.
But Obama’s missed opportunity is no doubt his failure to be a racial uniter. His promise to heal the racial divide, a vital theme in his 2008 campaign might have been bolstered for instance by the obvious step of criticizing the more radical elements of the race hustling business. The classic antecedent is Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment in 1992. This would have reassured non-blacks at little cost to Obama and provided breathing room for his policy initiatives. The shrinking number of guilty whites would have been grateful and the rest would have enjoyed the respite from the race question that only a black president could supply.
Instead Obama moved in the other direction, exacerbating racial tension to no constructive end. His clumsy comments culminating in the beer summit devalued the office while raising troubling questions about his commitment to racial harmony. And his Justice Department’s shameful refusal to complete the prosecution of black thugs who intimidated white voters further revealed his abandonment of high flown campaign promises.
Even after squandering a unique opportunity, Obama’s personal popularity could nevertheless rebound to a degree should he correct course on the race question. This may be more attractive to him considering the probably heavy Democrat Congressional losses in the upcoming election. Unfortunately for him the number of guilty whites seems sharply reduced and the race card deck has suffered long term devaluation from his own actions.
Piercing the Nimbus of Inevitability
One of the more subtle techniques of the Left (as opposed to, say, character assassination) is tone of inevitability they take in discussion their programs, history, and current events.
Up to the collapse, we just had to accept that the Soviet Union was a permanent part of the landscape. As a result we Americans were headed toward a European-style welfare state. The Leftist tide was irresistible. Everybody knew it. When people rise up against the Left, their experts profess surprise that it “came from nowhere.” That reaction is calculated. Things will return to normal shortly, nothing to see here. So don’t get excited and think your puny ideas matter.
In sports, a champion works to instill in his opponents a dread that they cannot win. A classic example is displayed by bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Pumping Iron. Arnold tells the young Lou Ferrigno that his turn will come–next year.
Despite its powerful effect on the mind, this nimbus is actually quite fragile: say something a little too dismissive of the opposition and they get angry, forget their fears, and come out fighting! Then they have to be beaten down all over again. That’s why winning coaches nearly always praise the opponent before and after the game. No reason to add to your troubles. If the strong side does occasionally lose, it’s important to spin the loss itself as the inevitable outlier: these things happen, you can’t win them all.
The press plays a role in this as well, by acting as echo chamber and amplifier of who’s on top. It takes either a strong will or obliviousness not to be affected by the chatter of conventional wisdom.
Politics works the same. Everything the Left wants is a basic right, so just get out of the way! Gay marriage is going to happen, as inevitable as civil rights. The press acts surprised when people, given the chance, routinely vote overwhelmingly against the Left’s agenda. That’s not supposed to happen.
On the other hand, the Right’s agenda, or anything traditional, must be “deconstructed” so that its racist (or whatever) underpinnings are laid bare. The Right cannot be allowed to get away with its unchallenged assumptions.
As the Tea Parties have shown, once the average conservative minded citizen, one of the majority, actually, decides to act and damn the consequences, the Left’s program is pretty brittle. It remains to be seen how much of it can be rolled back. For the moment the nimbus is pierced and the sunlight is shining through.
The Peril of Labels
Much as we hear in academia of the evil Republicans and their “manipulation of symbols,” the opposition does a fine job themselves. First, the appropriation and subsequent besmirching of the word Liberal. Originally meaning liberal in the sense of allowing individual liberty. Now meaning state meddling in nearly everything. Next, Freedom. Again this meant individual freedom from coercion. Now it means freedom from worry. Even the colors red and blue have been confused. Red was the Left, the communists and everybody remotely sympathetic to the state-should-run-it-all crowd. Now a red state is one in the Republican column. And this flip flop only because some ignorant–or cunning–media troll re-labeled a map in 2004. At least this one should be reversed–Fight the Power!
Limbaugh’s Audio Characters
One of the qualities that separate Rush Limbaugh from the talk show competition is the variety of voices heard. From the mimicry of politicians, to the DJ’s use of impressions such as Howard Cosell and the numerous audio soundbites, the audience receives a continuously modulated feed. Other voices include the callers, the music and movie parodies, and the Official Obama Criticizer in black lingo.
Besides the callers, Rush gives his own voice to others in the audience. The party line liberal lisps “That’s right, Mr. Limbaugh….” before making a fool of himself. Dimwit Conservatives nervously object to Rush’s arguments with “But Rush, but Rush, what about….” only to be quickly set straight with a calming pronouncement.
His volume also has broad range. After making a controversial point, he may close out a segment with a quietly emphatic “Don’t doubt me.” By contrast, the talk show competition is repetitive with little of the aural variety needed to reach Limbaugh’s standard. Their fortissimo bursts appear designed to provoke the listener to shout, “Enough, already!” With Rush, the show usually ends with the listener wanting more.
Obama the Vase
Obama’s race, novelty, and media cover (including endless favorable polls) have maintained the illusion that he is the overwhelming choice of the electorate. Meantime, all the news about him over the last several months has been negative. And each new story or fact amounts to a small whack against the vase that is the Obama candidacy. Reverend Wright, Father Pfleger, Tony Rezko, Rashid Khalidi, William Ayers, “My (half) brother’s keeper”, ACORN, “Above my pay grade”, “Punished with a baby”, Biden’s gaffes, “I just want to spread the wealth”, attacks on Joe the Plumber, aunt living in a slum–the list lengthens daily.
The sole question is whether the Obama Vase shatters from these blows before or after Election Day. If before, Obama loses and his career is over; if after, his aggressive administration, aided by the salivating Democrat congress, will ensure no action is taken, at least in the short term.
Peculiar Timing
The latest media dustup concerns reporter Gwen Ifill (NewsHour, Washington Week), who has written a book scheduled for release on Inauguration Day 2009. Her book apparently covers Obama (favorably, could it be otherwise?) as part of a new wave of black politicians.
Normally, political books are released during the campaign, not after. So Ifill and her publisher are not very concerned with sales figures. What would they be interested in? Anybody ready for Press Secretary Ifill?
Image Repair
Both Charlie Gibson and Oprah will have some image repair to do following their treatment of Sarah Palin. Their audiences clearly have a problem with obvious partisanship in the broadcast TV realm.
Gibson sensed this and donned the accusatory professor’s eyeglasses for his interview disguise. Charlie will ditch these in future to make clear the difference between the surly media star doing his duty for the cause and the sunny, nonthreatening anchorman to the masses.
Oprah no doubt realizes that her support of Obama has a cost. Unfortunately, she dissembles when saying that her show will not be a platform for any candidate. She should simply keep to the story that Obama is extraordinary and that she has finished with politics now that the primaries are completed. Oprah’s unwillingness to come clean will increase the damage.
