For
seasoned political observers on both sides of the aisle, it is not
particularly surprising that the media's narrative for Wednesday's
presidential debate has already been written. If Obama were to show up
in a clown suit and flip-flops, the media narrative would be that his
unconventional attire was a daring and brilliant move designed to
challenge the status quo and to reveal his human side, or
possibly a laudable effort to make politics more interesting to
children. Romney, of course, would be cast as the dull guy who dressed
like an accountant and who failed to reach the audience with his talk of
budgets and debt and restoring the private sector.
Wardrobe choices aside, by Thursday morning, as long as Obama shows up for the debate, the narrative will be that Obama has closed the deal with the electorate. After that narrative is repeated enough, it stands a good chance of becoming reality.
So the superficial answer to how Obama won the upcoming debate is that liberals control the news media that shape the thinking of voters in the middle, the ones who do not define themselves as liberal or conservative and who supposedly are still making up their minds. The deeper -- and more significant -- answer is that conservatives do not understand political strategy, and the left does.
The conservative idea of political strategy is to figure out how to win elections in spite of the fact that the left controls the news media. Conservatives will fuss and fume at biased questions from the liberal moderators, and they will rail at the biased coverage after the debate, but they do not seem to have the foggiest notion of what to do about it other than to vote for conservative candidates on Election Day. For conservatives, political strategy and election strategy are the same thing.
Wardrobe choices aside, by Thursday morning, as long as Obama shows up for the debate, the narrative will be that Obama has closed the deal with the electorate. After that narrative is repeated enough, it stands a good chance of becoming reality.
So the superficial answer to how Obama won the upcoming debate is that liberals control the news media that shape the thinking of voters in the middle, the ones who do not define themselves as liberal or conservative and who supposedly are still making up their minds. The deeper -- and more significant -- answer is that conservatives do not understand political strategy, and the left does.
The conservative idea of political strategy is to figure out how to win elections in spite of the fact that the left controls the news media. Conservatives will fuss and fume at biased questions from the liberal moderators, and they will rail at the biased coverage after the debate, but they do not seem to have the foggiest notion of what to do about it other than to vote for conservative candidates on Election Day. For conservatives, political strategy and election strategy are the same thing.
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