Obama's "self-presentation as calm, judicious, and fair-minded" versus "Anger Theater"

[jefferson_dem]

How Obama Wins

Sanity from Frum:

A large part of the secret of President Obama’s political success is his self-presentation as calm, judicious, and fair-minded – and his ability to depict his opponents as intemperate and extreme. You’d think by now that Obama’s opponents would have figured out this trick. You want to beat him? Great. Be more calm, more judicious, and more fair-minded. Don’t be provoked. Don’t throw wild allegations. Don’t boycott. Don’t lose your temper.

Instead, we get Anger Theater. It’s not smart. And it’s not working.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/how-obama-wins.html

[firedupdem]

1. The can't help themselves. Their base is filled with people who

can't be fair-minded. They are playing to their crowd.

[Nancy Waterman]

2. It is not just temperament

Obama makes sense and explains things clearly. It is a pleasure to listen to him tell us where we have been, where we are now, and his understanding of where he wants us to go.The GOP, on the other hand, use emotional arguments and empty platitudes to rouse people to their side, using words that exploit people's feelings, like "freedom", "homeland", "evil". Concepts like "the hate crime bill threatens our freedom" are completely incoherent but rousing to certain (brain dead) folks.

[Cha]

11. Precisely, Nancy.

"A large part of the secret of President Obama’s political success is his self-presentation as calm, judicious, and fair-minded – and his ability to depict his opponents as intemperate and extreme...."

He "depicts" opponents as intemperate and extreme because they are. Jeeze!

[dgauss]

3. Maybe Frum's insight is as close to self awareness as today's conservatives get.

But they just seem unable to distinguish content from form. It's not really that Obama presents himself as "calm, judicious, and fair-minded" - It's that he actually is those things. Republicans don't care about those qualities, just the benefits of appearing to have them.

They're just out there now looking for the right kind of posturing, or presentation, or issue or hair style - whatever sells their crappy brand for another election cycle.

[annabanana]

4. I really think you've hit the nail on the head there...

Every response to every problem seems to be some variation of "We can fix it in Marketing". I think it comes out of a kind of MBA mindset. How can we cut costs without appearing to cut corners or compromise quality?. . Sooner or later, you just plain run out of product.

[grantcart]

5. from the link - his wife is commenting on disagreeing with not inviting Obama to Notre Dame

There was too much of that in the past eight years. And now, with year one of a new administration barely begun, prominent conservative voices are accusing this new president of instituting fascism, of falsifying his birth certificate, of sympathizing with Somali pirates over American sailors. For one of our most serious and most conscientious moral thinkers to join the radical rejectionists is alarming, no matter how well stated her reasoning. For Ramesh and Maggie to cheer her on — well that is disheartening. If NR has historically stood against anything, it has stood against this sort of conservative migration to the fringe.



The cracks in the right are getting bigger and bigger. I like her term "radical rejectionists".

[SemiCharmedQuark]

6. Anger Theater should be McCain's nick.

[cali]

7. that's who he is and it's rare.

there isn't a repuke around who can present himself/herself that way.

[Hekate]

8. The "base" grows smaller, but those who remain are heavily invested in Anger Theater...

That's how they were recruited to the cause in the first place, and how they are kept there. The problem with doing that in a political movement is it's rather like catching a tiger by its tail... As a strategy it has its limitations and its drawbacks.

Hekate

[Johnyawl]

12. Exactly right, Hekate!

If the repug leaders stopped the "anger theater", their base would think them ineffective, and look for other leaders.

[SpartanDem]

9. This sentence sums up their entire problem

"You’d think by now that Obama’s opponents would have figured out this trick" it hasn't even occurred to them that it's not a fucking trick and until they figure that out they're still doomed

[Cha]

10. He's talkin' to you michelle blow your wad

bachmann.