Reply #11: The "Winner/Loser" factor [View All]

[DrBB]

Rove's most original and successful strategy has been the "preemptive victory dance"--they start acting like they've won well before the voting starts, even when the polls are running the other way. Obvious enough how it works: people like to identify with a Winner, hate to identify with a Loser. Doesn't matter if the Winner is a tyrannical fratboy with delusions of godhood; he is surrounded with the glow of Winner Wonder and our eyes glaze over and we must vote for him.

Iraq was such a breezy easy triumph and made such good TV and was so totally painless and uncomplicated just the way we like it. War On Terror = "Everyone go out and shop!" No B, S & T for this boy, it's all McWar, McTriumph, McVictory, McPolitcs.

Oops, now bad stuff on TV. Suicide bombs, $87 billion-dollar bill and counting, blood and ineptitude hanging out all over. Change channel, no fun. Bad TV, bad president. Suddenly it's all drenched in Loser Light.

The triumph of shallow perceptions: You live by 'em, you're gonna die by 'em as well.