Sometimes it is the stories that aren’t being told that end up being the most politically important. That is particularly true when the campaigns reach the close-in grappling stage the Dems demonstrated in their last debate.
It’s already been a long political season. Issues eventually wear out. The result is story stagnation. How stagnant is the Dem storyline? Dennis Kucinich’s account of seeing a UFO in Shirley McLain’s backyard was the most interesting thing said in the Philadelphia! In this environment the candidate who comes up with a new compelling story and makes it his or her own will have a distinct advantage.
How does a candidate come up with a new story? Start by looking for a good HERO.
In our book Elements of Persuasion, we say that Warren Buffet is our hero. In fact, we devote the first part of Chapter Four “Everyone’s a Hero” to singing his praises. He deserves every word we wrote and then some. He just did an interview with Tom Brokaw that should be a real wakeup call for the Dems. It deals with the unfair tax advantage that was just granted to Hedge Fund Managers.
Tax fairness, as opposed to knee-jerk tax cuts, can play very well in the general election. And talking up tax reform would steal a step on the Repubs. But to make it a Democratic issue, someone has to go after Hedge Fund Managers – major Dem contributors. Hillary is on the wrong side of this one. Edwards (with his successful “Two Americas” storyline) is better positioned, but if Obama really wants to get back in the game this is the ball he should pick up and run with. Lets see who has the guts to make a very smart move.
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