dagblog - Comments for "Colin Powell may well decide this election. "

Thanks Erica. I loved you

Oxy Mora — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:14:00 +0000

In reply to Oxy, I finally watched the

Thanks Erica. I loved you boyfriend analogy. Having raised two daughters I cannot disagree with the sequence you suggested----it pains me to think of all the loser boyfriend.

It seems that Joe was doing to Ryan what Romney had done to Obama---evening up the score. Let's hope that Prez gets it together. I think he will.

Thanks for commenting. If

Oxy Mora — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:56:18 +0000

In reply to If we are at the point of

Thanks for commenting. If it's a choice between channeling one's predecessors and praying for hours on end for supernatural intervention, I'm going with the former.

Gotta disagree. Guy's totally

erica20 — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:28:35 +0000

In reply to If we are at the point of

Gotta disagree. Guy's totally competent. His only blind spot is thinking that the rest of us are more responsible decision makers than perhaps we really are. (see my comment above)

Oxy, I finally watched the

erica20 — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:24:30 +0000

In reply to Erica, I have just read that

Oxy, I finally watched the debate and I agree that Mitt found his "father knows best" persona to spectacular effect, and took advantage of a giant Obama blind spot, because Obama is clearly repelled by that persona while many of the rest of us are attracted to it.

In this context, I can understand why Obama thought he won the debate. He laid out his points very clearly--he believes that being clear helps people understand and agree with his ideas. And in an effort to respect his listeners' objectivity, he neutralized his nonverbal communication to the point where it was almost nonexistent, so people could really focus on what he was saying rather than on how he was saying it. For Obama, this is what debating is, and you could tell he felt that Mitt's contradictory stances, all-over-the-map talking points, and emotional outbursts were just not what this was all supposed to be about.

But this is exactly why Obama sucks at the political debate--he just can't resign himself to the idea that a political debate is simply a campaign speech with time limits. He wants people to listen, and believes that some of them are. But for most people, nonverbal communication trumps verbal communication every time.

And, you nailed it on the father-figure thing. Mitt really went with the "I'll work this out because I'm your Dad, and I'm smart, and no matter what, you kids are the most important thing in the world to me. So go to bed now, and don't worry."

Mitt also came across as more passionate, and I suspect that the reason Obama scored low among single women has to do with his very neutral nonverbals as well. Right or wrong, if a woman is confronted by one potential boyfriend who says "I don't exactly know where I'm going, but God, baby, I wanna go there with you!" and another one who says "I'm believe we're well-suited for each other; I hope you'll consider the options and choose me in a well-informed and responsible decision," she is going to pick the "Oh Baby" guy every time, until she's been burned often enough to realize that guy number two will work out better in the long run. (I'm not proud of pointing this out; I speak from rueful experience here.)

If Obama's going to do nonverbal neutrality in the next debate, he needs to be really clear that this is what he's doing by saying what Biden effectively did in his debate--asking people to really listen and use their common sense, and pointing out that if Mitts debating sounds like a campaign speech, it reflects on his integrity.

Another example--Mitt wants to sell you a particular car--Obama wants you to get a car that works for you.

If we are at the point of

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:47:55 +0000

In reply to Colin Powell may well decide this election.

If we are at the point of "channeling" our respective predecessor generations, we are in deep, deep trouble regardless of which candidate prevails in the election! And, if a candidate who has (theoretically) been vetted for the Presidency is in need of a "father figure" to discharge the duties of office competently, we might just as well hand over the keys to the kingdom to our Chinese financiers!

Let's get a grip and at least put on the facade of adulthood for the rest of the world's nations. But, alas, perhaps the problem is that even the facade is beyond the capabilities of our current President. Perhaps the problem harks back to the last election when we were so anxious and wrapped up in making history, we did a totally inadequate job of vetting the person whom we wished to accomplish the history-making on our behalf. While well-intentioned, we failed to realize that our hero is not competent to perform the sophisticated duties of the Presidency.

Bottom line, it is not our "channeling" that has gone awry, it was our previous lack of patience in the 2008 election coupled with our history-making President's deficient skill-set. Not even a Colin Powell can rescue us in this mess. A new President is the only solution. And, along with that new President, we need hours and hours of Prayer (or whatever it is that you would do if pinned down under fire in a foxhole made in China) calling for supernatural intervention bringing about a Presidency that is sane, competent and obedient to our laws and Constitution.

Erica, I have just read that

Oxy Mora — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:34:15 +0000

In reply to Yup. It looks like he has

Erica, I have just read that among those most dissatisfied with Obama's performance were single women. i really don't know if that fits my thesis or not. It sounds sexist to say there is an authority issue here. More likely they were just pissed off that he appeared so inarticulate.

Yup. It looks like he has

Erica — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:05:57 +0000

In reply to Thanks for commenting, Erica.

Yup. It looks like he has integrity but it's pretty much all for show.

Thanks for commenting, Erica.

Oxy Mora — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:28:06 +0000

In reply to Oxy, I'm really impressed by

Thanks for commenting, Erica. I read your post and yes I think the Bain background is very relevant. At this point there are so many targets it's hard to whittle them down. That's why Obama's team needs to ask the right question. Is he telegraphing something that people are picking up on, particularly single mothers and Walmart Moms. It's one thing to talk contraception and equal pay. But when life just becomes a fog, even though Romney is generating the fog, if the other guy can't cut through it and Romney is going all compassionate and just trust me like, Romney wins. They need to use Romney's ammunition very specifically against him and undercut his integrity. Method is much more important than the actual subject matter. Anyway, that's my take.

Oxy, I'm really impressed by

erica20 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:33:07 +0000

In reply to Colin Powell may well decide this election.

Oxy, I'm really impressed by your thinking on this issue--and in fact have been heavily influenced by it. (Would like to hear your thoughts on my recent post if you have a moment.)

I think you are right that Mitt is trying to establish himself as the "real expert" although I had not thought about the father figure aspect, potent because Obama "only" has daughters and a very powerful wife.

Recently I blogged that "Romney believes he's the only guy in the office doing any work." It was sort of a joke at the time, but today I noticed a photo of Romney standing behind a podium bearing the words "Obama's not working." It couldn't be much more out there than that, could it, that Romney and crew are saying that the shiftless black guy is only pretending to be president. Jeez.

Romney and crew are the scary ones. Indeed, they'd put Jesus himself out of a job if his numbers weren't high enough.