For once, I think that pit bull extraordinaire James Carville gets it. The truth is that he might’ve swerved into the truth last night. Here’s what he said:
Carville also said the party needs to do a better job of communicating its message to the American people. “If this party has a message it’s done a hell of a job hiding it tonight, I promise you that,” he said.
Jim, the reason why Sen. Obama is sliding is because more people each day are figuring it out that he doesn’t have a message. It’s all about hope and change. That isn’t enough to win a presidential election with. Th’ Ragin’ Cajun let loose with this, too:
“The way they planned it tonight was supposed to be sort of the personal, Michelle Obama will talk about Barack Obama personally, Ted Kennedy was a very personal, emotional speech,” Carville said. “But I guarantee on the first night of the Republican Convention, you’re going to hear talk about Barack Obama, commander-in-chief, tax cuts, et cetera, et cetera.”
That’s pretty good analysis, actually. If there’s one thing that Republicans are good at, it’s that they’re masters of stagecraft and messaging. Democrats often bemoan the GOP’s simplistic message and ‘fake patriotism’. Democrats still haven’t figured out that that’s where most of America still is. Democrats still haven’t figured out that nuance and shades of gray aren’t for messaging.
Another difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans don’t have to tell people that they’re patriots, that they love their country. The actions of their leaders says it. Democrats have to because they’re frequently undercutting traditional American values.
It’s necessary for Democrats to say that they love America after Democrats vote to cut off funding for winning in Iraq. It’s part of their DNA: First undercut America’s war effort to appease the Appeasement Wing of the party, then tell the rest of the country that the Democrats love their country.
I predicted earlier that this wouldn’t be a great week for Democrats, that there’s too much discord amongst the delegates. This discord isn’t because they don’t believe the same things. It’s because they’re too into identity politics.
That’s why they don’t have a message.
Technorati Tags: Democrats, James Carville, Democratic Convention, Obama, Patriotism, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog