A convincing counter-argument to the "Palin is radioactive" narrative.

[D23MIURG23]

From "The Palin Choice and the Reality of the Political Mind" by George Lakeoff

(snip)

Election campaigns matter because who gets elected can change reality. But election campaigns are primarily about the realities of voters' minds, which depend on how the candidates and the external realities are cognitively framed. They can be framed honestly or deceptively, effectively or clumsily. And they are always framed from the perspective of a worldview.

The Obama campaign has learned this. The Republicans have long known it, and the choice of Sarah Palin as their vice presidential candidate reflects their expert understanding of the political mind and political marketing. Democrats who simply belittle the Palin choice are courting disaster. It must be taken with the utmost seriousness.

(snip)

But the Palin nomination changes the game. The initial response has been to try to keep the focus on external realities, the "issues," and differences on the issues. But the Palin nomination is not basically about external realities and what Democrats call "issues," but about the symbolic mechanisms of the political mind -- the worldviews, frames, metaphors, cultural narratives, and stereotypes. The Republicans can't win on realities. Her job is to speak the language of conservatism, activate the conservative view of the world, and use the advantages that conservatives have in dominating political discourse.

(snip)

Palin is the mom in the strict father family, upholding conservative values. Palin is tough: she shoots, skins, and eats caribou. She is disciplined: raising five kids with a major career. She lives her values: she has a Downs-syndrome baby that she refused to abort. She has the image of the ideal conservative mom: pretty, perky, feminine, Bible-toting, and fitting into the ideal conservative family. And she fits the stereotype of America as small-town America. It is Reagan's morning-in-America image. Where Obama thought of capturing the West, she is running for Sweetheart of the West.

(snip)

Yes, the McCain-Palin ticket is weak on the major realities. But it is strong on the symbolic dimension of politics that Republicans are so good at marketing.

(snip)

More at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/the-palin-choice-and-the_b_123012.html

I definitely recommend reading the whole thing.

[melody]

1. I could not disagree with this more - they're missing very basic psychology

Women are insulted. Men are leery.

Symbolism and marketing be damned. The public is becoming very wise to it.

[qwlauren35]

5. A very logical, intelligent viewpoint...

which you are projecting on a far less logical, less umm, well, less logical voting public.

Please remember that these "logical, intelligent" people voted for Bush for the last two straight terms. These "logical, intelligent" people got excited at the prospect of impeaching a man for getting a blow job.

They may be wise to losing their jobs and rising gas prices, but they do love mom, Apple Pie, etc., and Palin is gonna serve it up with whipped cream and cherries.

Maybe we should switch gears and go back to Obama as the man with values, Obama the family man, Obama the squeaky clean.

It's quite possible that this election will NOT be about issues. Can we change gears?

[melody]

7. You're assuming the same level of intelligence

There are gradations. The people who weren't hurting are now hurting. The people who would lean Democrat will move Democrat.
We have a government in tatters and people living on food stamps who never did before.

[Bicoastal]

2. If McCain wanted a VP for symbolism, he could have chosen Ted Nugent.

The symbolism point can only be stretched so far when your candidate is 72 years old.

[D23MIURG23]

3. Ted Nugent might also have more foreign policy experience.

I'm assuming he has toured abroad at some point in his career.

[NanceGreggs]

4. It's this same old/same old narative ...

... that is the downfall of the GOP this election.

People living in a prosperous economy with no imminent worries about job losses, house foreclosures, loss of savings, pension funds, medical coverage, etc. vote for "sweethearts" of the west and the like.

Does anyone honestly think that a man or woman who is out of work, uninsured, out of options and out of hope is going to vote for a perky little nobody who doesn't demonstrate the intellectual wherewithal to balance a checkbook, no less have the know-how to get this country back on course and impact their prospects in a positive and meaningful way?

And I sincerely doubt that Ms Palin's alleged hunting skills or her participation in the PTA will change many minds.

[Oak2004]

6. In this case Lakeoff is wrong

The nail in the coffin for the narrative is her connection to the AIP.

If she had been vetted, and that all-American story had held up, yes, there would be a political problem here.

But she is not just inexperienced: she appears un-American and unbalanced, of the same ilk as the gun-toting militia fringe, not the gun-toting frontierswoman.