Hillary Clinton’s appearance on all five Sunday Political talk shows was political storytelling at its finest. It used all five of our story elements.
Her goal was to parlay the interest in her health care plan (an issue people feel enough PASSION about to actually tune in early Sunday Morning) into a lasting home-field advantage in the Primaries. To do that she needed to address one remaining issue – could she (or any woman) be truly “Presidential?” (ie. our national HERO)
To prove herself, she turned to her true political base – the Washington Puntocracy. Underlining the message that she owned the territory (as we say in Elements of Persuasion Hero=Earth=Territory and Brand) she actually gave all five interviews from her own home in New York. It was a masterful touch. Not only did it allow her to appear completely at ease, but it also subconsciously linked her performance to the fireside chats of FDR – always a good branding move for Dems.
Her answer to the question “Isn’t your new plan socialized medicine,” won the day. On all five shows her response was essentially the same - the most charming of laughs. Totally beguiling. It dismissed the question with a sly and unstated “Come on, we both know that isn’t what it is, and it is so nice of you to fall into my trap by asking.” It is how we all wish we could handle an ANTAGONIST - with easy good humor. She followed with a series of concise talking points that quickly provided the AWARENESS we needed to see things her way and presto-chango Hillary was TRANSFORMED from A candidate to THE candidate. It is a very hard act for her opponents to follow.
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