Opinion Forum

Is There a Way to Win the Hearts and Minds of Obama Voters?

October 3rd, 2012

If so, we need to find it ~~very soon~~ NOW. I am posting this before tonight’s debate because I don’t think that will cause much change for the better. I hope I am wrong.

An article at PJ Tatler on October 3rd chastised those on the right who fault Governor Romney for not having done an adequate job of campaigning. It’s well worth reading in its entirety but this summarizes it:

Mitt Romney is running the best campaign anyone could run under the circumstances.

The circumstances are as follows: the media will not report anything he does unless they think it can be used against him. They’re not in fact reporters, they are, pace Professor Reynolds “Democratic Operatives With Bylines.”

Hence, though Romney and Ryan are crisscrossing the nation, meeting with real citizens, you never hear about it. The media breathlessly cover Obama’s appearances and no it’s not because he’s president. They did the same thing in 08. But Romney and Ryan move in a cone of silence. The only time that cone of silence is broken is when the media thinks Romney has made a gaffe. And the fact that most of those are made up tells you he’s an excellent campaigner.

I agree. Suppose Governor Romney took every possible step and then some to show that he is ten times more American, loveable, cuddly, kindly, empathetic and intelligent than President Obama, while simultaneously (with the vigorous support of ninety percent of the known economists in the country)

♥ laying out credible and specific plans to balance the budget and also giving multiple free cell phones and gasoline to everybody, subsidizing everyone’s rent and paying off everyone’s mortgages in the process and

♥ persuasively demonstrating how, during his first week in office, he will reduce the real unemployment rate to less than four percent while making all forms of welfare more available to everyone regardless of employment or immigration status and

♥ immediately bringing peace to the entire world without offending, killing or injuring anyone and

♥ doing every other wonderful thing imaginable but never, ever, doing anything to which anyone could reasonably object.

It would have no effect (except to irritate his conservative and moderately conservative base) if not covered, or if covered with a pro-Obama spin, by the “principled” media to which great masses of voters pay at least some attention. A tree falling in a forest with nobody there to hear it would more likely resonate worldwide.

This Wall Street Journal article asks why the story of the Obama Administration debacle in Libya “won’t go away.” It pretty much has gone away where it matters for the November 6th election because the “news” sources that come to the attention of low information voters — few of whom read the Wall Street Journal — have done a great job (from the Obama Administration’s perspective) in covering it with ObamaSpin. Fast and Furious? Isn’t that a soap opera about casual sex? No, if it were it would attract far more notice. Univision did a pretty good job of covering it after the Principled Media had substantially failed to do their job. Race pandering? Oh? That’s what vile White racists who hate President Obama because he is Black do. To complain about that sort of nonsense is deemed “whining by a loser” and does very little good.

Here’s my question: How can we, bloggers and others, get convincing messages to the low information true believers — who at most watch a bit of fluff on television but still vote — and to those who read and write stuff at the Librul media? I have tried snark, serious stuff and just about everything in between. It does not seem to matter because it preaches only to the choir. I’m delighted that some choir members may read it, but they aren’t the problem. It does not seem to reach many who are tuned into the Principled Media or who get the sort of stuff I received today from the Obama campaign:

Friend –

In just a little while, I’ll go on stage to meet Mitt Romney in the first presidential debate here in Denver.

I couldn’t be prouder to represent you out there.

You know, it’s because of you that affordable health care is within reach for millions more Americans. It’s because of you that we’ve seen 30 straight months of job growth and middle-class families have seen their taxes cut.

Together, we’ve done a lot — but there is so much more to do to keep this country moving forward. That only happens if we win this election.

Before tonight’s debate, will you chip in $5 or more to help finish this campaign strong?

https://donate.barackobama.com/Stand-With-Me

Can’t wait to see what you do tonight.

Barack

I am afraid that most of us are preaching to the choir. That it works for those on the left is important but sheds no light on our problem. They have a loud choir and letters such as this to the Biased News Media are unlikely to do much good; they are doing what they are paid to do. How can “low information voters” who don’t care about much beyond what’s in it for them, and the Librul true believers who encourage them, be reached and maybe, just maybe, convinced? Have we reached a point beyond which that is no longer possible?

Ideas? Pretty please!

(This article was also posted at Dan Miller’s Blog.)

Articles written by Dan Miller
Tags: bias, debate, experience, Obamacare, record, reporting, satire, voters
Categories: Media, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

One Response to “Is There a Way to Win the Hearts and Minds of Obama Voters?”

Tom Carter | October 4th, 2012 at 12:51 am

I just watched the debate. Romney clearly did well, better than Obama. Even some Obama supporters are tweeting (whatever that means) their disappointment. Who knows whether it will make any difference. The only thing that can be said for certain is that it happened beyond the media filters.