Play to your weaknesses

March 25, 2006

As election strategies go, most consultants suggest candidates and parties play to their strengths. The Bush gang seems ready to do the opposite.

Bush and Cheney separately went on the offensive yesterday against the Dems, delivering heated remarks that highlight the issues they’ve screwed up the most.

Vice President Dick Cheney also was on the campaign trail, headlining a fundraiser in Florida. He used the occasion to question the commitment by leading Democrats to the “the battle against terrorists in Iraq.”

Accusing them of having a “sorry record” on that issue, Cheney said Democratic leaders had “decided to run on the theme of competence. If they’re competent to fight this war, then I ought to be singing on ‘American Idol.’ “

That’s right, Dick Cheney believes his critics aren’t competent on Iraq.

Harry Reid’s office issued a relatively thorough response.

“Under this administration’s watch, Iraq has become a training ground and launching pad for international terrorism, North Korea has likely quadrupled its nuclear arsenal, [Osama] bin Laden remains on the loose, terror attacks across the world are on the rise, and Katrina exposed the staggering gaps in the administration’s ability to protect America,” said a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

I guess “Is Cheney nuts?” would have been a little too crass.

The threat that ‘They will come and kill your babies in the night’ delivered the last election for the GOP.

It’s market tested, and it has a successful track record of keeping elections within stealable margins.

They’d be fools if they didn’t run on it.

People are used to it — it doesn’t require them to re-arrange their mental furniture. Harry Reid’s exactly right, but it would require such a re-arrangement for the average voter if it were to be made to stick.

  • Hey, I’d pay good money to see Dick Cheney sing on American Idol….

    Getting back to the issue of competent leadership in a wartime situation, though, someone has really got to shake some sense into these clowns. Wasn’t it just a few days ago that Bush effectively abdicated his responsibilities governing this war’s outcome? First, it was the War on Terror. Then it twisted over to Iraq. Next came “The Long War.” Now it’s openly acknowledged—by the C-in-C himself, no less, that “victory in Iraq, and a homecoming for all the troops, won’t occur under his watch.” To top the whole mess off, he plugs another “signing statement” into the Patriot Act renewal, effectively rejecting Congressional oversight.

    The current administration can’t lead, and they can’t follow. The only option left, clearly, is for them to “get out of the way….”

  • I guess “Is Cheney nuts?” would have been a little too crass.

    Well, considering that Cheney said “If they’re competent to fight this war, then I ought to be singing on ‘American Idol,’ ” I don’t think it would have been too crass.

    Yeah, I don’t think the tack is really going to work for them well right now, but I think as an overall pattern how the goopers have been handling weaknesses has been getting smarter. ‘Play to your strengths’ is an aphorism, but the idea isn’t that you should neglect your weaknesses. By finding a way to address weaknesses head-on instead of letting the other side frame the weakness, the Republicans have done a good job a lot of times. Sometimes you can afford to- and it’s smartest to- just not draw any attention to a difficult issue, but where the Republicans can find a clever way to sort of step in an head-off criticism on a weak point, they’ve been doing it again and again.

    The President’s recent statement on troop withdrawal was just one example. Who doesn’t think that wasn’t put out there so that people can’t keep saying “When’s he going to tell us when the troops are coming home?” until 2008. He’s already given us an answer. So it stanches some of the potential for debate.

  • oops-

    I meant to say “Who doesn’t think that was put out there…” as in, of course Bush just said that to stop his slide on Iraq.

  • That’s true though that the president’s response is an abdication, and so it comes off as pretty inadequate. But, it was an attempt.

  • Unfortunately after all the Bushministration various tadry tricks fail there is still the one remaining trump card.. the ace in the hole… the mega screw up that scares the shit out of everyone so much that the country goes into shock and rallies behind the commander and thief.

  • I don’t know if Cheney is nuts… but I will say this:

    Last I heard 18% of Americans disapprove of him.

    Crikey!

    One can probably show that 18% of American’s believe the earth is flat!

    You have to be a true blue FUCKHOLE to have that sort of approval rating.

  • Actually, it’s a pity he didn’t start it with “Is Cheney nuts?” That’s the way the Republicans talk about us, and it gives the paragraph an emotional focus before launching into objective facts. We Dems are always eager for the public to think for themselves, based on the facts we provide them. But many people “connect” much better with feelings. If we seem to be arguing politely about things, it’s hard to believe that we’re really serious about our side or that there’s anything too wrong with the other side. One side argues logically, the other is screaming about how awful we are — who do you go with? Our side looks cold and snobbish. And surely nothing can be too wrong if we’re arguing in such cold fashion. If we revealed our emotional side, our outrage, our horror, our anger, our fear, our contempt — more people might pay attention.

  • Catherine,

    I agree with you. The lead (or lede*) sentence should be “Would you take the word of a man who was so drunk he shot a friend in the face with 200 pellets?” When they still knew how to campaign the Democrats showed a picture of Nixon, five-o’clock shadow and all, with the comment: “Would you buy a used car from this man?”

    * Journalism lesson for the day: the proper word for the first sentence or paragraph should be “lead” (as in “leading), but in the days when type was set by pouring hot lead (the element) into molds and then rearranging the lead slices with type on them, they adopted “lede” to avoid confusion (thus confusing those unfamiliar with the spelling ever since, which includes everyone who sets type electronically).

  • Dumbya is in trouble is undeniable but his people are not problem. His policies are. It is his policies, not his advisers that have given us huge federal debt1.2 trilllion over the next decade, 12 million illegal aliens, a massive trade deficit running at $800 billion a year and a no-win $400 billion war that is bleeding our country. Chief architects of the war in Iraq – President dumbya, VP Deadeye Dick and Defense Secretary Donald H. Dumbsfeld are three blind mice. They could see the desert mirage of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but can’t see Iraq now spiraling toward civil war with 138,700 U.S. troops caught in the middle. dumbya is now road kill on the rethugilican political super highway.

  • Regarding the Cheney shooting incident, why wasn’t Dickeye Dick patted down for a flask or given a breathalyzer test? I guess it only hurt for a minute when Cheney tossed his sterling silver flask deep into the brush; the next day he ordered a new one at Nieman-Marcus online.

    K-man says: “dumbya is now road kill on the rethugilican political super highway.” Now, if only Georgy-Boy can turn the whole conservative movement into road-kill with his stupid war and drunken-sailor spending.

  • What’s even scarier than what Cheney said is that he got laughter and applause for saying it.

  • Ed Stephan’s suggestion of a lede is over-doing it. That’s too used-car-salesman-ey. People know that there’s not any overwhlemingly strong piece of evidence about exactly what happened on that day, so going too far in trying to get people to accept conclusions that you might be ready to draw can make you sound like an insincere person.

    I wouldn’t say that Cheney’s little encounter is something you should never mention or anything like that, but people have to be careful how they talk about things.

  • Dick’s just trying to create another new reality, which he really needs to do because all the previous realities he and W created turned to shit. Maybe if they weren’t so busy creating realities, they’d have time to deal with the realities here on the the ground. Come to think of it, even if they did that, their incompetence would take over and we’d just find ourselves in the s.o.s., different latrine. Vote anti-republican.

  • I know this isn’t the appropriate post by me to this point, but I wanted to put this up where all would have a good chance of seeing it.

    If you really, really, really, really want to bust a gut laughing your ass off, go over to http://www.RedState.org and read the latest there. Krempasky announces that Ben Domenech is going to “spend some time in the wilderness” while he takes a “leave of absence” from RedState. And when you read the paean to a man “brave enough” to use the name Augustine and hold himself as the modern explanation of the struggle between sin and salvation, do avoid looking directly at your computer monitor, so you won’t make a mess on the screen. Talk about juvenalia! I’ve finally figured out what the worst thing is about these homeschooled morons – they have no clue about dealing with the world and their permanently-prepubescent fantasies are really funny.

    And Ben Domenech’s “apology” immediately below Krempasky is reallllly bizarre.

  • Yet more evidence that this administration and it’s people need an intervention. Democrats aren’t competent to fight Iraq and terrorism? Please.

    In the beginning of this mess I felt alone (with a few other people) in wondering if I was insane or living in a parallel universe but after comments like that and others they have made, I know that it isn’t me. They are they ones with the psychological problems or living in a parallel universe. On one hand I am a lot less frustrated on the other a lot more scared.

  • Ed,

    I tend to agree with Catherine and have been having this issue with Dems for way too long. While I believe there is a time and place for statesmenship, responding to idiocy like Cheney’s comments is not. Additionally, it doesn’t play on the nightly news very well either. They should take lessons on quips that draw your attention, e.g., the used car quote or even just as simple as “who does this guy think he’s kidding?” or the Reagan classic “Well, there you go again.” When they try to respond with long-winded rhetoric, the public (unfortunately) tunes out when the emphasis should be on what a moron Cheney (Bush, et al) sound like. Indeed, that’s the battleground – don’t respond to such drivel with high ideas. Ultimately, you’re still trying to win an election and then you can give the statesman speeches.

    Homer

  • Tom Cleaver, You’re definitely right about the belly laughs. That guy would have a great future in “spin” if it weren’t so bloody obvious.

  • Brent Scowcroft, Cheney’s old friend and colleague, seems to think Cheney’s gone nuts. He said “I don’t recognize him anymore” or something like that.

    I almost completely agree with Catherine — in spirit at least, if not in detail. (Outrage is good, but Streisand ruined “feelings” and “sensitivity” for me! “People who need people,” remember?)

    Something else: the Dems seem to want to be led around by the Republicans. Reactive rather than proactive. And yes, overly talkative (and I’m no less guilty of that than any of us!). We complain and rant right on schedule, the moment they suggest an issue.

    Down aways CB raises the “single payer” issue. Now THERE’S a fight to be fought. But are we fighting for it — I mean fighting, campaigning, showing a little blood running in our veins, or are we just talking about it? Are we perhaps a little overly obsessed with demonic personalities (Cheney, for starters) and a little less obsessed with the gritty issues these nutcases throw at us?

  • Who is Ben Domenech?

    And as in regards to red state America:

    They spend more federal tax dollars than they contribute.

    Far as I am concerned they are a bunch of lazy, white, snaggletooth hippies who probably don’t flush after they shit….

    PS (Anybody still wonder why they lost the Civil War?)

  • Cheney is showing symptoms of the same affliction Shrub had during his new conference from the White House at the beginning of the week. DESPARATION. Their normal spin tactic is to reverse every bit of bad news when they aren’t attacking the critic or the messenger. Instead of 72% of Americans disapprove of President Idiot, the spin machine would proclaim 28% of Americans love Shrub. That doesn’t sound too impressive any more though. Rethugs don’t have much to campaign about or any GOOD accomplishments to point out. Signs are already in people’s yards for local elections this year and one thing is glaringly absent. Nobody is putting their party affiliations on the signs as in the past. “Ashamed to be a Rethug” and “Too sorry to stand up” might be appropriate on most.

  • cheney puts that talkin point out there in medialand: “are the demos compentent to wage the war on terror?”

    Note how the framing assumes there is a war on terror, or, more accurately, there MUST be a war on terror.

    I can hear tweety now – talking to some rw schill: “So, do you think the demos can effectively engage the terrorisats in Iraq and Iran?”

    rw schill: “Well, that’s a good quesiton. We’ll not know because I doubt the American public will trust the demos with such an awesome responsibility”

    And so on…..

    The ‘quip’ about american idol is further fodder for the corporqate media screetch machine. Just an additional way to segue into the demos incompentent meme.

  • Don’t you just have sympathy for Shrub and Vice-Shrub having to go on the campaign trail (and they don’t even have to be re-elected) to sell Bush’s war in Iraq. They probably promised ass-half Bush he wouldn’t have to do this again. No wonder he appears a little excitable. If our country wasn’t in such a sad state in so many ways, it would almost be gratifying watching Shrub and his administration self destruct. They teach history because it tends to repeat itself. Every society or civilization reaches a peak before it declines, sometimes to disappear entirely. Bush’s form of democracy leaves the question of which slope from the peak we are on. Religion and big business trump science and facts. Global warming is a fact, yet the boobs-in-charge still proclaim it’s only a theory. They don’t want to concede greenhouse gases may be bad because that would interfere with their newest “opportunity”. Let’s burn coal to make ethanol to end our dependance on foreign oil. Only drawback seems to be it produces twice as much CO2. Once, when you create the ethanol and the second time when you actually burn the ethanol fuel in the engine. Our future doesn’t look too good unless our government quits outsourcing and actually develops some inteligent thought not capable of by a man with an IQ of 81 like we have now.

  • I think it was Jon Stewart who summed up their whole pitch:

    “BOO!!! BOOOGAH BOOGAH BOOGAH! MUUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! BE AFRAID, BE VERY VERY AFRAID: VOTE REPUBLICAN.”

  • Major issue the Repigs continue to ignore are inspection of the cargo on airplanes and containers on ships coming into our major ports, and of course, border protection. Tell me, what real action have the Repugni-cons taken here? Nothing. They love ad-hominem attacks and destroying their “straw men”, but when it comes to protecting the country, all they want is for us to allow them to spy on us without any oversight whatsoever, to read our email, to demand our library book check-out records, to eliminate freedom of speech and create “free-speech zones” (what an oxymoron! If you are only free to express yourself in a ‘zone’ of their choosing/approval, where the hell is the freedom of speech??!!) They are the masters of classic pschological projective identification. Anything they deny doing and/or accuse others of, you can be sure that they are doing. They are the party of FEAR, FEAR, FEAR. You don’t need the Bill of Rights all you need is the RePigs. Read between the lines and you always see”Look out, the Dems won’t protect you, only someone as brilliant as I can do that.” Yea, right, George Dubia-ya is brilliant, and Dead-Eye Dickless Chain-Gang Cheeney should be starring on Americna Idol. C’mon people, lets stop bitching, and start the next revolution! ( Oh yes, and to you Right-wingnut, knuckle-dragging, flying monkey spys, I mean in a sane, peaceful manner, of course.)

  • To be called incompetent by an incompetent with 18 % approval ratings them is actually a positive . Repubs have such low approval ratings and are so widely discredited, that an attack from them is a gift. Swiftboating isn’t what it used to be.

  • Cheney, Bush, and their Republican cohorts: Permanently on Fantasy Island. Trouble is they believe in their own dribble and expect others to believe them, too!!!

    Let’s hope our fellow Americans will put these never-do-wells in permanent retirement come the ’06 and ’08 elections. Ideally, without any retirement income, or, perhaps, a token penny a day.

    • Comments are closed.