Verbal Momentum
Karl Rove Strikes Again
While watching Hannity and Colmes on Fox News last night cover John Kerry's pronouncement that our troops in Iraq are no better than terrorists it suddenly struck me: Karl Rove has made suckers out of the democrats again.
Remember how the Bush team kept strangely silent for months while democrats unleashed increasingly powerful attacks against Bush's Iraq policy and its results? Remember the agonizing questions about why Bush did not speak out in defense of his policy and its indisputable achievements in Iraq? The answer is in the phrase, verbal momentum.
What the heck is that? Well all right, I just made it up. But what it means here is the tendency to defend and even extend a position one has taken when it is first challenged, before the higher brain functions like logic have a chance to kick in. Of course the longer those higher brain functions take to kick in the further the position will be extended and with a lot of politicians that gives plenty of time to get way out in left field. Howard Dean and John Murtha spring to mind for example. I have a cousin who described this effect, after an argument with his wife, as his "out of body experience". "I was over here", he said, "and my mouth was over there still talking!"
The reason this is important is that there's a pretty fine line between vigorous opposition to your country's policy during war and behavior that most Americans regard as treason. Stay on one side of the line and your criticism drains support from your political opponents. Cross the line and you are suddenly in political no man's land. Now it's clear why the Bush team had to wait such an seemingly excessive length of time to respond. They had to wait while the democrats all slowly racheted up their rhetoric, until they were just barely on the "safe" side of the line. Then, when the Bush team finally responded, the susceptible democrats took the bait and jumped right over the line, driven by their own verbal momentum.
It's interesting to note that one politician, who pretty much everyone agrees is the Mr. Spock of the democratic party, didn’t fall for it. Of course with Hillary Clinton it's pretty hard to tell if she's one politician or two so the extra brainpower probably helped her see the trap sooner.
Anyway that's the idea. Karl Rove, master of timing and momentum, strikes again and we all get to watch the democrats crowd together on that last little twig way out at the end of the limb.
While watching Hannity and Colmes on Fox News last night cover John Kerry's pronouncement that our troops in Iraq are no better than terrorists it suddenly struck me: Karl Rove has made suckers out of the democrats again.
Remember how the Bush team kept strangely silent for months while democrats unleashed increasingly powerful attacks against Bush's Iraq policy and its results? Remember the agonizing questions about why Bush did not speak out in defense of his policy and its indisputable achievements in Iraq? The answer is in the phrase, verbal momentum.
What the heck is that? Well all right, I just made it up. But what it means here is the tendency to defend and even extend a position one has taken when it is first challenged, before the higher brain functions like logic have a chance to kick in. Of course the longer those higher brain functions take to kick in the further the position will be extended and with a lot of politicians that gives plenty of time to get way out in left field. Howard Dean and John Murtha spring to mind for example. I have a cousin who described this effect, after an argument with his wife, as his "out of body experience". "I was over here", he said, "and my mouth was over there still talking!"
The reason this is important is that there's a pretty fine line between vigorous opposition to your country's policy during war and behavior that most Americans regard as treason. Stay on one side of the line and your criticism drains support from your political opponents. Cross the line and you are suddenly in political no man's land. Now it's clear why the Bush team had to wait such an seemingly excessive length of time to respond. They had to wait while the democrats all slowly racheted up their rhetoric, until they were just barely on the "safe" side of the line. Then, when the Bush team finally responded, the susceptible democrats took the bait and jumped right over the line, driven by their own verbal momentum.
It's interesting to note that one politician, who pretty much everyone agrees is the Mr. Spock of the democratic party, didn’t fall for it. Of course with Hillary Clinton it's pretty hard to tell if she's one politician or two so the extra brainpower probably helped her see the trap sooner.
Anyway that's the idea. Karl Rove, master of timing and momentum, strikes again and we all get to watch the democrats crowd together on that last little twig way out at the end of the limb.
posted by IR1 at 4:38 AM
36 Comments:
I suspect you meant to compare Hillary Clinton to Mr. Spock, the cold-blooded logician, and not Dr. Spock, the warm-hearted pediatrician.
LOL, the Republican party is in shambles, with controversies and legal problems for many of the key leaders, Rove being one of them, but you still find a way to credit Rove for being some kind of mastermind? Rove was an idiot to get involved with the Plame affair and his name is now tainted with that brilliant f*ck up. The only reason why republicans herald Rove so much is because he is the only guy who has and resemblance of power that also possesses an ounce of intelligence.
CG, when the intelligent people of the right talk about how Karl Rove is behind everything, they are making fun of idiots like you that think Karl Rove is the evil mastermind that runs everything. You are a moron.
Yea, the Republicans are in shambles. Maybe if you keep repeating that it will come true.
This srategy is called, "Give 'em enough rope." But for all Rove's reputation, remember that political time-horizons are extremely short-- probably no more that four - six weeks, and for good reason. Not only circumstances, but circumstantial contexts change, in ways that tend to make nonsense of one's preconceptions. So though "Rove strikes again!" may be tongue-in-cheek, the fact remains that the White House's months-long silence on war issues has seriously and perhaps permanently damaged Bush's standing with the voters.
As for the Wife of Bill, aka the WOB, please do not mistake reptilian nature with "intelligence." MzBill's collectivist Statism,
her absurd feminist posturing, her pathetic ignorance of fundamental economic principles ("Hillary Care" et.al.) --assuming her intentions are honorable, which we doubt-- render her physically incapable of addressing any substantive issue on other than sad, small, terms rife with corrupt self-interest.
In November 2000, the voters of New York State installed this dolt to represent them in the Senate. Six years later, they may as well have elected Rosie from behind the deli counter: All she does is make political sandwiches, stacking her rotten produce on transparent coldcuts. Anyone biting into MzBill's menu would be better off at the local sewage plant.
This srategy is called, "Give 'em enough rope." But for all Rove's reputation, remember that political time-horizons are extremely short-- probably no more that four - six weeks, and for good reason. Not only circumstances, but circumstantial contexts change, in ways that tend to make nonsense of one's preconceptions. So though "Rove strikes again!" may be tongue-in-cheek, the fact remains that the White House's months-long silence on war issues has seriously and perhaps permanently damaged Bush's standing with the voters.
As for the Wife of Bill, aka the WOB, please do not mistake reptilian nature with "intelligence." MzBill's collectivist Statism,
her absurd feminist posturing, her pathetic ignorance of fundamental economic principles ("Hillary Care" et.al.) --assuming her intentions are honorable, which we doubt-- render her physically incapable of addressing any substantive issue on other than sad, small, terms rife with corrupt self-interest.
In November 2000, the voters of New York State installed this dolt to represent them in the Senate. Six years later, they may as well have elected Rosie from behind the deli counter: All she does is make political sandwiches, stacking her rotten produce on transparent coldcuts. Anyone biting into MzBill's menu would be better off at the local sewage plant.
I'm not sure what you intend by the use of Dr. Spock as an analog for a certain member of the Democratic Party. What Spock do you have in mind? The only Doctor Spock I know is the late Benjamin Spock, the famous pediatrician whose advice books on baby health and well-being influenced the mothers of the Baby Boom generation. Dr. Spock later moved from fame to infamy when be became an early opponent of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam (turns out Spock was a Red in college in the 1930's). The other Spock is the fictional yet iconic First Officer of USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). This fellow is a green-blooded half-breed alien who possesses high intelligence coupled with a remarkable degree of emotional control. What he does not have is the honorific doctor before his name. Though Spock may or may not have many academic degrees he doesn’t use any title other than mister, the traditional naval title of address for an officer bellow the rank of ship’s captain. In all cases I know throughout original the Star Trek series he was Mister Spock. Later as part of the plot of a follow-on movie he gained a promotion to captain, but never a medical degree.
If I were asked to draw an analogy between Benjamin Spock and a prominent Democrat I’d choose Howard Dean -- he’s an MD, a defeatist and a crypto-commie just like the late and unlamented baby doctor. If asked to analogize to Mr. Spock I’d be stumped for an answer because of the few Democrats who strike me as persons of high intellect none exhibit the emotional coolness of the famous Vulcan First Officer. Joe Lieberman is certainly a brainy fellow, but he’s also prone to tearing up in moments of high emotional stress. Zell Miller is smart, but his anger at the cupidity of his party shows through his rhetoric. Hillary is smart, but her cerebral output tends to low cunning rather than lofty insight. Kerry is cool. He is also dumb. Nope, no Star Trek Spocks on that side of the aisle.
The key difference is that the Democrats are lawyers: They always are trying to win their case. Bush is an MBA: His orientation is the "quarterly numbers," which in his case is the 11/2006 election. His focus is towards peaking then. The only Dem who seems as smart as him is Hillary, whose next "quarterly report" is the 2008 presidential primary season.
Pyrthroes,
"Wife Of Bill" is gender specific and thus is not politically correct. Please use the correct terminology, "Spouse Of Bill". It fits much better in so many ways.
RE: "I suspect you meant to compare Hillary Clinton to Mr. Spock, the cold-blooded logician, and not Dr. Spock, the warm-hearted pediatrician."
Actually, Dr. Spock, the Baby Book author, was a die-hard US-out-of-Vietnam-NOW activist.
And Mr. Spock's Vulcan blood was not cold, but green.
Senator Clnton was a die hard US-out-of-Vietnam activist, and her blood---well, does she have any?
Actually I was thinking of Mr. Spock not Dr. Spock. Thanks for the correction. I went ahead and corrected the article as well.
Steve
I think jeff z nailed it, with one extension of his thought..
The Democrats indeed are lawyers trying to win an arguement. But as is often the case in a courtroom when a defense attorney knows that he cannot win his case on the facts, the Democrats are trying to win on a technicality.
-- fret
Are we talking about Mr. Spock, the Ac-tor,
or Dr. Spock, the guy that a generation later (and after he started raising babies himeslf) realized that he was wrong?
Are we talking about Mr. Spock, the Ac-tor,
or Dr. Spock, the guy that a generation later (and after he started raising babies himeslf) realized that he was wrong?
Are we talking about Mr. Spock, the Ac-tor,
or Dr. Spock, the guy that a generation later (and after he started raising babies himeslf) realized that he was wrong?
"LOL, the Republican party is in shambles"
Hmm. Republicans hold the White House, the US House of Representatives, the Senate, and most governor's positions.
So keep stomping your feet. It is amusing to watch.
Didn't Mr. Spock also hold an advanced degree, entitling him to the honorific Dr.?
From here on out, let us differentiate them as "pointy-eared Dr. Spock" and "round-eared Dr. Spock."
(Uh oh, I may have just committed a terrible galactic racial slur.)
During his first term -- a columnist wrote that President Bush enjoys playing and winning at poker.
In this case, he waited until his opponents had played all their cards (losing in Iraq, get out now) -- then laid down his royal flush (Victory in Iraq).
I think you're definitely right that this is one of Rove's major strategies - and it has been successful on numerous occasions. But I think what we're seeing in the polls is that, at the end of the day, the whole "let's not make any good factual arguments, and just bust our opponents when they make some controversial quote" approach is no longer working.
The Bush crowd has been underestimating us for way too long, and their narrow defeat over Kerry - a weak candidate who was saddled with unenviable issues like gay marriage - fooled them into thinking that we really were that gullible. At the end of the day, most Americans are rational, common sense people. No great "gotcha" quote can sustain policies that waste billions of dollars and misallocate our defense resources. And we haven't even carried out the 9/11 commission's recommendations . . .
"The answer is in the phrase, verbal momentum."
I call it the rope-adope tactic taken straight from Ali. Sit on the ropes, let them swing and get overconfident and swing too much, take the time to clear your head, then when they have worn themselves down a bit, come out with some well placed jabs.
Thad wrote:"And we haven't even carried out the 9/11 commission's recommendations . . ."
Who elected them? Why would the Bush administration "carry out" recommendations from a Gorelick-tainted commission other than the one's they wanted to anyway? That's silly.
As for the bigger issue of this post--- it may have been an inadvertant rope-a-dope but it was a rope-a-dope for sure.
Problem is, Thad, factual arguments spill out from the administration all the time, they just are not covered by the Dem press. If you are looking for facts on Iraq, get ready for one on the 15th. Do you even know what I am talking about?
ross: SOB does have a certain ring to it!! Well done!
Mr. Spock indeed came off as emotionless, but Vulcan culture on Star Trek had a very strict code of ethics. I thus question likening Hillary Clinton to Mr. Spock.
Steve,
What you call verbal momentum (nice phrase, btw) is common amongst like-minded groups: without an opposing voice to check their excesses, they tend to move more and more to the extreme of their position as they vie to outdo each other; one-upsmanship run amok.
Neil,
IIRC, didn't Ben Spock, late in life, recant at least his child-rearing teachings? I sometimes think of that when I watch the rather inscrutable immaturity of so many chronologically grown people, and I ask myself rhetorically, do these people have too little self-esteem, or too much?
Steve,
What you call verbal momentum (nice phrase, btw) is common amongst like-minded groups: without an opposing voice to check their excesses, they tend to move more and more to the extreme of their position as they vie to outdo each other; one-upsmanship run amok.
Neil,
IIRC, didn't Ben Spock, late in life, recant at least his child-rearing teachings? I sometimes think of that when I watch the rather inscrutable immaturity of so many chronologically grown people, and I ask myself rhetorically, do these people have too little self-esteem, or too much?
Steve,
What you call verbal momentum (nice phrase, btw) is common amongst like-minded groups: without an opposing voice to check their excesses, they tend to move more and more to the extreme of their position as they vie to outdo each other; one-upsmanship run amok.
Neil,
IIRC, didn't Ben Spock, late in life, recant at least his child-rearing teachings? I sometimes think of that when I watch the rather inscrutable immaturity of so many chronologically grown people, and I ask myself rhetorically, do these people have too little self-esteem, or too much?
Steve,
What you call verbal momentum (nice phrase, btw) is common amongst like-minded groups: without an opposing voice to check their excesses, they tend to move more and more to the extreme of their position as they vie to outdo each other; one-upsmanship run amok.
Neil,
IIRC, didn't Ben Spock, late in life, recant at least his child-rearing teachings? I sometimes think of that when I watch the rather inscrutable immaturity of so many chronologically grown people, and I ask myself rhetorically, do these people have too little self-esteem, or too much?
p.s. Sorry for the double-comment under two names; blogger.com was kinda acting up, sigh.
"Verbal momentum."
I've seen the phenomenon in action. I used to be a law clerk in an appellate court, and I got paid to watch a lot of lawyers make fools of themselves. One of the judges on our court used to be a master at using people's verbal momentum against them. During oral argument, he'd induce a lawyer to extend his position further . . . and further . . . down the garden path . . . then whammo! he trips the ambush (that is, points out the glaring hole in the lawyer's argument) and leaves the poor sod standing there in his Brooks Brothers suit looking stupid. Thing was, this judge was an equal-opportunity sort, and he'd usually do it to both sides on a case, just to keep 'em on their toes.
For months I have been sending emails and posting comments titled:
Machiavelli Smiles
Machiavelli Giggles
Machiavelli Laughs
The flooded schoolbuses
in NO sure was a Giggle.
Think we are approaching:
Machiavelli Roars
and
Machiavelli Wets His Pants.
Thanks for terrific post linked to by Glenn Reynolds.
". . . factual arguments spill out from the administration all the time, they just are not covered by the Dem press. If you are looking for facts on Iraq, get ready for one on the 15th. Do you even know what I am talking about?"
Are you referring to the fact that Iraq is having elections on Dec. 15? The elections have been covered widely in the media, so if that is what you're talking about, I don't why you're acting like that is some repressed story. The elections are definitely a big step forward for Iraq, if they produce a lasting democracy. The questions we have to ask are 1) whether Iraq's chance of having a lasting, stable democracy was worth the all of the negative impacts the Iraq war has had, and will continue to have, on our countries long-term diplomatic, economic, and national security interests; and 2) whether Iraq's chance of having lasting, stable democracy was worth the Bush administration lying to the American people about WMD evidence.
Also, complaining about the "liberal" or "Dem" press's coverage of Iraq, in the wake of the Plame/Judith Miller scandal, is pretty absurd, and ignores the facts underlying the entire investigation. The NY Times and the Wash. Post have both apologized for not investigating the Bush administration's WMD claims more independently (in the Times' case, I believe 4 of the 6 stories they apologized for were Miller's). Frankly, the media had done its job prior to the war, there's no way we would have invaded under the WMD rationale (and please don't use the Rove strategy of just lying and saying that wasn't the rationale - we all have access to Colin Powell's presentation to the UN, which he's since called a "blot" on his record).
If anything, the media has downplayed the forged documents themselves (example from nsarchive.org) - which should be a much bigger part of the Plame story, and the debate over invading Iraq.
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