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Here's what Barack Obama must do if he truly wants to win the election: 1. Convey more passion, even a sense of anger at the condition the Republican Party has left the country in. Model that outrage for the American people till they feel it in their bones. Mr. Obama, clearly one of our nation's most effective orators, must connect with people emotionally as well as intellectually. Use well-honed logical arguments, but demonstrate more clearly the urgency of ending Republican leadership by consistently using a more dramatic tone of voice. Explain what is at stake and why the country must not risk making the same mistake it did when it thought it was buying security by electing George Bush. Use power phrases such as: "How many banks must fail, how many of our homes must be foreclosed, how many jobs must be lost, how many people must go bankrupt trying to pay for health care, how many Americans must come home in body bags before we stand up as a nation and say enough!" ...
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PT Barnum Rides Again or The Marketing of a Hockey Mom The absurd circus that Americans sometime refer to as their democracy is revealing itself in all its glory. Our electoral system - like so much of our society - is all about the marketing and branding of products. The selection of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as candidate for vice president by the controllers of the GOP is a clear message to the electorate: we are going to market an attractive female politician to you, unlike anyone you have ever seen on the national political stage; someone with radical right-wing views; a petite woman with a cute macho swagger who is totally unqualified to be president of the United States! We will succeed in doing this because we are masters in creating brand loyalty and we have ultimate faith in the depth of your stupidity. The ascendancy of Sarah Palin reads a bit too much like a hymn to PT Barnum. After months of excoriating Barack Obama, accusing him of being a fast-talking, far-left celebr...
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Iraq Plus Five - Ho Hum Five years after the US invaded Iraq, the war grinds on, unsupported by the majority of the American people or the Iraqi populace. The conflict in Iraq has now lasted longer than World War II and will end up costing many times more. If one is to believe the statements of the Bush administration and president George Bush’s presumptive Republican successor John McCain, the war is going just fine. The same arrogance and disdain for the intelligence of the American people that allowed this disaster to happen was manifested again in statements by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and John McCain yesterday. In his message to the country, the president again outlined the now famous narrative that if we don’t win in Iraq, al-Qaida will establish a stronghold from which it will be able to attack the United States. Never mind that we have all but ignored going after al-Qaida in Pakistan where, according to most observers, including our own government, Osama bin ...
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