Public perception is political life or death

[lunatica]

History shows that more than anything else Obama has to be perceived as fighting for us, not just as angry. If a show of anger is necessary in order to push his agenda then he should show his anger to the point it works to push it. He doesn't need to be the idiot stomping cowboy boots kicking cow shit while blathering trite talking points about 'wanted dead or alive' or 'smoking em out'. I would lay bets Obama is angry. Very angry, just like those of us who can connect action to reaction down the line. It's not hard to imagine, if you have the facts at hand that this BP oil gusher is probably among the worst things that have happened historically. The situation can be measured in biblical terms with no end visibly in sight.

Whether erroneously or not he's most likely calculated that perhaps it's not time to display anger at this juncture. But along with all the national resources and the hands on practical work he can command he has power over the public perception of his actions. History teaches us that the greatest leaders have been publicly perceived as guiding us out of trouble's way. The population of countries are at the mercy of their leaders all the time. Even in Democracies because it's the leaders who get us into the mess (ex: Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Bush) and it's leaders who clean it up as best they can (Ex: Carter, Clinton, and hopefully Obama). All of their successes or failures had a lot to do with the public perception of what they were doing. The public had the ultimate power in their destinies as our leaders, but the public was helped in their perceptions of the leadership by pundits. Nixon knew this when Walter Cronkite criticized the war in Vietnam. There's a good chance Martin Luther King Jr. was killed because he was an anti-war activists, and so was Robert Kennedy. I believe the facts about public perception are well known to those who manipulate it and who have built it into a well polished machine. We are bombarded daily from all corners of our lives with ads and propaganda. Even George W. Bush knew this, and I mean that in the derisive way it sounds. Even the village idiot was in on the game.

In today's world public perception has taken on power that is unprecedented as it's manipulated and massaged and cultivated daily by radio and tv personalities who together are the carefully created propaganda machine from hell. Those of us who are old enough can actually look back historically and see how it's been happening. Younger people don't have that perspective because in their experience 'it's always been like this'. This is a dangerous thing, because it shows how public perception has been perfected and burnished to serve the few at the expense of the many. The teabagger party is totally a creation of propaganda. And it's not even a very elegant one. It's hamfisted and foolish, yet it serves the masters well. Sarah Palin is pure propaganda without even an attempt to refine her message. These are examples that show how anyone can aim for the reptile brain and create national policy and perception if they have the right tools. And it also shows that politicians live or die by this kind of manipulation.

One good example that comes to mind is Allan Grayson. If he were to do everything he's doing now except come out with outrageous comments on the Republican's actions he would be totally lost in the rarefied atmosphere of Washington DC and he would be far less effective in his sway. But he knows how to manipulate perception, and sometimes it just takes brutal honesty and clever sound bites and the knowledge that showmanship may be the pivotal point in getting things done. His timing has also been perfect so far. He has an agenda and thankfully it's to make our lives better. He doesn't display anger but he does something just as good. He uses saber sharp humor and derision. He understands the game which is to manipulate us, the public. He outwits his detractors with a few well chosen words which he can come up with instantly in any debate. He's got the intelligence and wit to think on his feet as well as the timing to know when to back off for a while so he can come out unexpectedly for major impact.

Obama can easily satisfy people's inner angry child who want to see him kick ass by having his response team leak his displays of anger during meetings. I'm sure he's angry. All intelligent people are. He himself doesn't ever need to display much emotion publicly if his team are clever enough to guide our perception of what he's thinking and doing. He's been great at manipulating our perception of his intelligence and vast knowledge by letting us see him in action personally when he took on the entire Republican faction of Congress on camera, armed with nothing but his brain power. He did it again when he took on both parties in a question and answer session in public. He doesn't need to convince us he's pretty fucking smart anymore. He's already created that image through careful manipulation. Surely he and his cabinet can see that his entire success has been all about public perception up to now. I'm convinced they're every move has been highly crafted to influence perception. Sooner or later Obama is going to come out again and make us feel he's doing the job we put him there to do. We just don't have the historical distance we'll have in the future, after his time in office is over to be able to see his pattern yet. It's been less than two years in one of the worst times in this country's history. After his term or terms are over will we be able to judge whether he's been successful or great or not. History will tell. His legacy will tell.

[FrenchieCat]

1. Allan Grayson represents a small district, so I don't think we can compare

what he does to what the President does.

As for wanting to see him angry, I think that's mainly the media telling us
that this is what we should want.

I feel strongly about why what the media say doesn't do it for me: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x326869

[lunatica]

2. I was hoping to make the point that PERCEPTION is an important element of politics

Facts and actions are obviously the most important element, but public perception can make or break leaders.

Whether we like it or not or whether you are I are personally swayed by propaganda isn't the point. Most Americans are because they aren't interested and prefer to trust their pundit of choice. Many choose FOX and believe it to be telling them the Truth.

[Ninga]

8. You hit the nail smack on the head! Spot on! Perception rules the day and it takes a mighty

show of force to kick perception off the porch.

And then sometimes it takes decades for truth to show up.

[treestar]

17. OMG let's just cede all that power to the pundits

Not necessary. How insulting to "most Americans." They can think for themselves. I don't let any pundit tell me what to think. We have access to information directly. Giving in to this is simply to hand power to the pundits. And cause the POTUS to have to do a lot of useless shit just to appease them? How horrible. If anything needs to be changed, this would be it.

[jaxx]

3. We got the president we elected

By Gloria Borger, CNN Senior Political Analyst
June 2, 2010 1:03 p.m. EDT

<snip> All of which leads to President Obama. He was elected because he is cool, calm and analytical. That's what we wanted to see after George W. Bush, so we made him president. But now the disaster in the Gulf has made many of us want to see someone else -- with plenty of anger, emotion and bravado. We want him to yell at BP. We want him to loudly tell us he's whipping the cleanup effort into shape.

<snip> So we want him to morph into something he isn't -- which is exactly what we hate about our politicians. We want him to be another Barack Obama, an actor. Maybe we want him to be George Bush with the bullhorn after 9/11. Only he isn't.

<snip> Good to know, I guess. But if Obama were full of rage, he wouldn't have been elected.

True to form, we want it all. We want a leader who can feel our pain while rising above it. We say we don't trust government, but we look to it for answers and cleanups. And we elected Barack Obama. Now we want to change him.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/02/borger.obama.spill.image/index.html

[impik]

6. Yep. Exactly. As i said below, apparently that's not the president people wanted

[treestar]

18. IMO people do NOT want an angry President

The media does, because it makes a better show.

As far as anger at BP, how useless. Just useless. It cleans no oil, prevents no spill, caps no well, in fact it gets in the way of solutions and makes them harder to see.

People who indulge in anger are just useless.

[BeFree]

4. From your lips to Obama's ears

I do believe he has caught on. I hope so.
He is beginning to manage the perception somewhat better than he did.

I think he listened to BP too much. That BP did in fact manage Obama's perception, and that after awhile, Obama saw what bs BP was peddling.

Unfortunately, Obama was then caught in a trap. He is slowly working his way out.
I hope he does. We really need him to help fix this.

[impik]

5. He's not trying to prove anything. He is being himself, exactly the way he's been from the beginning

That's the president people elected. Since now it becomes more and more clear that Americans actually want themselves a George Bush - well, that's why we have elections every 4 years. In 2012 Americans can go to the polls and get the president they deserve - A brainless drama queen.

[lunatica]

7. I think his team can manipulate public perception without changing him

Like I said they could easily 'leak anonymously' about his anger and what he says in private meetings. That's what leaking is all about. He can then be free to be who he is. They don't have to wait for journalists and pundits to ask them what his reaction is.

Politicians need to do this. It's important to get ahead of the image makers by creating your own image. We can't watch him in the meetings or at his desk while he's working but we can be told so we can have an idea. That's where we get our perception of him. If Hannity and Limbaugh are allowed to create the image then our perception of him will be what they decide it to be. We see that in the teabaggers. They spout lies as they're fed lies. And the thing is they believe these lies. Those lies have been very carefully placed, modified and polished through the propaganda machine.

[treestar]

16. Let's not give "image makers" that power

Who the hell are they that they should be running this country? Obama has access to the media - pay attention to what he says rather than what they pundits claim is their "perception." We need to get our own perceptions and not let the likes of the pundits "shape" them. They just get off on the power. Take it away from them.

[ProgressOnTheMove]

9. Yes, Grayson is genius because he understands the game, he grabs the attention and shakes it. ..

Own the headline own the world, that's where we live. The way Grayson does it though is with the truth only smplified.

[secondwind]

10. America isn't ready yet to see THE ANGRY BLACK MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE.....

I feel very strongly that Obama wants to avoid that image at all costs.

[lunatica]

11. So do I

But I also think he isn't that way anyway. He's mental, not emotional. He thinks his way through problems and solves them through reasoned consideration which weighs all sides and comes up with a livable balance. Which is something that all great Presidents have done. It's just that at the time they were Presidents not everyone saw it. Lincoln must have been seen as a monster who was literally tearing the country apart. He was certainly perceived badly in the South even though he was right.

FDR changed this country for the best and yet he's still demonized for doing so by the Republicans. He was right. Greatness is almost always perceived after the fact. when the party tries to create it falsely we get the fact free history that Reagan and Bush jr. were great Presidents. Our generation (the baby boomers) have seen it from all angles. We should be the smart ones. Unfortunately some of us are teabaggers. Go figure.

[GinaMaria]

12. Agree.....Perception is King

For example: The R's know they cannot impeach BHO, but they will try to keep this thing going because while not illegal, it is distasteful to voters. It gives voters a negative perception of the man and his administration. D's whose only argument is that it is not illegal or even uncommon are missing an opportunity to mitigate the damage to voters' perceptions.

[besdayz]

13. a

democrats problem is they are weak....even when all the evidence and pundits are on their side...

thus they can't even eviscerate an oil company despite the entire world population on their side on this issue....


now of course anything obama does will be spun as overreaction or too little too late...and that's accurate....

i saw some clip of him on matt lauer cursing BP....yeah that's nice red meat, but you look disingenous at this point and aren't you implicating yourself for backing assholes for so long....who's the bigger asshole, the asshole or his enabler?

i just can't believe obama can't get the politics of this right....wonder if he was spent after hcr...

so many amateur hour blunders and this is 2 yrs in...they should be peaking


i'll be writing a paper soon on how the notion that obama is a great communicator is a myth; he is a great campaigner. there is a distinction there. take away the delivered speeches, large crowds, and he has trouble conveying a message b/c his style is so discursive by nature. would be a great prof to talk to in office hours but that doesn't translate well on camera. his real strength is his ability to micromanage, run meetings, be a policy wonk, and be hands on.

[JCMach1]

14. Also, the administration has been absolutely tone deaf concerning the spill

[treestar]

15. The public needs to get a grip, deal with reality and quit expecting a "show"

which they damn well know is fake. Maybe that's the "change" we are getting.

Ever since Uncle Ronnie Raygun we've been valuing the "show" over reality. This is the land of Hollywood. But wishful thinking and pretend gets us nowhere and in fact gets us into a hole.

We chose Obama for his qualities of calm, rational thinking, because we knew we needed that. Only the pundits want this display of "anger" because it makes a better show. We picked no drama Obama.

Anger doesn't help anyone. Hatred does no good.