With the media in full CSI: Ohio and Texas mode, slicing and dicing the body politic for clues to Hillary Clinton's latest resurgence (don't forget to check under the fingernails!), theories abound:
It was the economy, stupid. It was the Latino/African American disconnect. It was the media finally giving Obama some heat. It was Saturday Night Live (all hail Amy Poehler, Lorne Michaels, and Jim Downey -- political kingmakers).
But the real answer is to be found deep in our lizard brains. Clinton won by dealing from the bottom of the deck -- and the bottom of the barrel -- and playing the fear card. And, as happened in 2002 and 2004, Be Very Afraid proved to be a very effective campaign pitch.
After her New Hampshire comeback, Clinton famously declared: "I found my own voice."
For this latest comeback, she found Karl Rove's voice.
People aren't currently stocking up on Cipro and duct tape but, as the cable channels' hyped up reaction to the Times Square explosion showed, these are still jittery times. And appeals to voters' lizard brains still move the needle.
After an 11 state losing streak, Hillary Clinton didn't suddenly transform into a more compelling candidate. Only a spookier one.
So we got the 3 a.m. phone call, making no real argument about preparedness to lead, only the shadowy insinuation that bad things will happen to your kids if you vote for Obama. Trailers for slasher movies have less of a creep-you-out factor.
We got Hillary's ready-to-lead scorecard: "I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." This scorched earth pronouncement led Air America's Rachel Maddow to tell Keith Olbermann, "That's what you say when you want to be John McCain's vice-presidential choice. That's not what you say when you're trying to become the Democratic nominee for president." Olbermann's take: "Unbelievable."
And we got that jaw-dropping moment on 60 Minutes where Clinton generously announced that she takes Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim and rejected rumors that he is with the so-big-you-could-fit-a-madrass-in-it caveat, "As far as I know." What's next, "Obama is a human being... as far I know"?
It's worth remembering that earlier in the campaign, when Clinton was still pitching the inevitability of her candidacy and fending off attacks from her opponents, she roundly disavowed these kinds of tactics. "I'm not interested in attacking my opponents," she claimed in Iowa in November. "I'm interested in attacking the problems of America and I believe we should be turning up the heat on the Republicans." Terry McAuliffe reiterated the do-no-harm-approach: "We're going to focus on the Republicans. We're going to focus on winning the White House. We're not going to attack our fellow Democrats. That's not what we want to do."
That is, they didn't until the high road looked like it would turn into a dead end. Then out came the fear-mongering playbook and the phone started ringing at 3 a.m.
I've written before about how fear-mongering works, causing voters to react not with their linear and logical left brain but with their lizard brain and their more emotional right brain.
Deep in the brain lies the amygdala, an almond-sized region that generates fear. When this fear state is activated, the amygdala springs into action. Before you are even consciously aware that you are afraid, your lizard brain responds by clicking into survival mode. No time to assess the situation, no time to look at the facts, just: fight, flight or freeze.
When we are in this state, we are biologically programmed to pay less attention to left-brain signals -- indeed, our logical mind actually shuts itself down. Fear paralyzes our reasoning and literally makes it impossible to think straight. It's the neuroscience, stupid!
After Tuesday's success, you can be sure the Clintons' march through the mud will continue over the seven weeks until Pennsylvania. Bill Clinton understood the potency of playing to voters' lizard brains -- it's why he started rolling the fear dice back on the Charlie Rose show. How to counter this kind of fear-mongering without kicking off a round of Mutual Assured Destruction for the Democrats is the Obama campaign's greatest challenge.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
HILL IS A MONSTER!!!
These two candidates are very close on the issues. There are some minor differences in policy, but basically they're on the same page. So I wasn't really sure who I was going to vote for until the press conference Hillary had concerning those health care and NAFTA flyers Obama put out. The health care flyer looked exactly like the Harry and Louise commercial that came out in the early 90s, and as a Democrat that really made me mad. That type of manipulation is what stopped Universal Health Care before, and now here it is again coming from a Democrat! It is right out of Karl Rove's playbook.
As for the comment Hillary made regarding Obama's speech in 2002, right now she's trying to prove she is the best candidate to go up against McCain. If it's Obama v. McCain, people could vote for McCain because he has more experience. It's harder to make that argument with Hillary, and that's what she was pointing out.
One last point, these Republicans that come from the far right wing of the Republican party have had most of the power in Washington now for far too long. I don't want to work with them. I want to fight them and win. I don't see any fight in Obama. He waits, and waits, and waits, before he fights back.
Women use the left side of their brain more than men which makes them better diplomats, more compassionate, more cooperative--why would any feminist reinforce the worst instincts of men at the expense of the higher mind advantages of women?
OMG... I'm hiding in my cave trembling and I haven't even seen the sooooooo scary Red Phone Ad... It's the Dinosaurs! OMG... The sky is falling!
What an INSULT to people to think one Ad frightened us into submission... Your contempt of the Voter is amazing...
Let me think on this... Do I want a scrappy fighter, I E, Hillary, answering the Red Phone, refusing to be bullied? Or, Mr I Want to Please Everyone so they Vote for me, Obama? Obama is about Hope and Change... Why would I spend my "Hope Coin" so to speak, on a Rookie U S Senator who says he will "change" Washington DC and Politics as usual??? He is Politics as usual and is getting Endorsements from the very ones he is supposed to change, LOL...
We have a Corporate corrupted Political System with two Branches... Democrat and Republican (basically)... Kept in place by WE the (People) Government... Thinking one person, one Presidential Office Holder, is going to change the Political System is absurd... What a waste of the "Hope Coin"... More like Fairy Dust, or Illusion... WE, The Government, of, by and for the People ignorantly think our Office Holders are the Government...
Is Hillary a Washington Insider??? Where else did she learn to behave like a Political Street Fighter... She knows the System... She has fought the System before...
The Political System is already consuming Obama as he Campaigns... Do I think the "Good OL Boys and Girls" are going to surrender their control (what they call Power) to a Rookie... Not only NO, but Hell NO!
If you want "SCARY" would NOT that be WE the Government doing the same thing over and over expecting a different results??? Maybe that is what is meant by "spending our "COINS" like a Drunken Sailor???"
POGO: WE have met the Enemy and "it" is US!!!
By the way Arianna Huffington, please take note of this comment. Do you really think America will elect a black man with the middle name Hussein? When given the choice between a war hero with years in the Senate and a new senator with the middle name Hussein-who will middle America vote for? Obama gives great speeches and seems like a nice guy. But you have to remember, not everyone voting is a celebrity-loving, latte-drinking, open-minded liberal. It doesn't take much to put doubt in the heads of voters. Therefore, Obama vs. McCain would result in another 4 years of Repubs in power. Hillary has a good chance to fight the GOP. Although she's a woman and would have a tough time, I think she has a better chance than Obama. Isn't the goal to get a Dem in the WH?
It wouldn't matter - America wouldn't be worth saving.
NEW YORK GOVERNOR'S POST.
LET'S ASK HER.
LET'S SET HER UP FOR THE QUESTION: WOULD YOU, HILLARY,
TURN DOWN A CALL TO RUN FOR NEW YORK'S GOVERNOR.
E-MAIL EVERYONE AND ANYONE WHO WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT
THE AMBITIONS OF HILLARY CLINTON.
since you have done your research. Can you list HRC's specific accomplishments in the Senate.
Are we really prepared to accept that this sort of thing is ok? I don't mean bringing up legitimate issues, even in a confrontational manner; I mean insinuations, half-truths, misleading statements and outright lies, that sort of thing, you know? If we cede that battleground as being legitimate, we are laying the boards and hammering the nails for a nice nifty platform that John McCain and his 527 buddies can stand on to launch their campaign for 2008.
You know, if something is wrong, it's wrong. It's not only wrong when someone else does it, but when you do it, you chuckle and say that's politics. It's wrong! It's lizard brain, it's low-class, and it's disgusting. Why don't we each of us do a little personal inventory, and determine to stand for what's right in every instance. I thought that was why we were all Democrats, although I've seen in the past year how truly naive my thinking has been.
When you're right, I will congratulate you, because integrity is important to me. When you're wrong, I will correct you, because I want to be helpful. When you're sneaky and immoral, I will be outraged, because I want to be part of a party that's better than that. I refuse to shrug resignedly and say that's politics. A new kind of politics will take a long time to achieve, but it's going to take even longer every time I turn a blind eye to impropriety.
I have a sense of right and wrong. It's very imperfect, and it's evolving and improving (hopefully) all the time, but I've learned to trust it. It told me that invading Iraq was wrong in 2002 and 2003, it tells me that the rule of law is the tie that binds our nation together, and it tells me that slimy, Rovian political tricks are beneath contempt. They are unacceptable, now and in the future, and irrespective of the source and regardless of motive. The means, class, for those of you who still haven't learned, absolutely do not and will not ever justify the end. So you who remain intent on this approach, keep playing, and snicker about it in your smoke-filled backrooms. We're not just knocking on the door of your little clubhouse. We're about to kick the damn thing down!
And that she is entitled to become the first female commander-and-chief!
You see, the White House had been under seige for her eight-year-stay, and well, her lizard brain has told her that her and Bill's domestic, personal problems constitutes her battle-ready experience to be the commander-in-chief. She has been a White House warrior, fighting Bill's sexual preditors.
DOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING:
.http://.newyorker.com/archive/1994/05/30/1994 It contains a definitive profile about "Hillary, the Pol" - - her experience in Arkansas, etc. A must read to learn how "accomplished": she really is.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1994/05/30/1994_05_30_058_TNY_CARDS_000366533
MWiz of truthseekerforum.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPUUPO2HqvQ
Call these up and see for yourself.
Plus, He has given over $698,000 to the superdelegates vs @291,000 by Clinton. This wasn't out of the goodness of their hearts - this in itself proves he's just another politician who will use any means to accomplish his goal. Right now, Hillary, in spite of her faults, is by far the best candidate to lead our country with its numerous problems. Go Hillary !!
And SNL managed to resist the temptation of such sweet humor material.
The best policies in the world won't be enough to get my vote for Hillary. Why? When it comes the decision time, her accent will change depending on the audience. She has so many personalities that I won't trust a $10 loan on.
There is one consistency in her, to be fair though. She's a closet neocon and she stuck to it.
She's the personification of all that's wrong about the democratic party establishment since the 90's.
Whom do you TRUST to take that 3am call?
Hillary will not go after the special interests - THE FUND HER CAMPAIGN! Where are the tax returns? Why is her average donation so high? Why does she have a multi-million dollar 527 campaign supporting her? And why aren't you able to see that her campaign is identical to that which put Bush in the office?
>>Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State
Ivo Daalder, Clinton National Security Council member
Martin Indyk, Clinton Ambassador to Israel
Anthony Lake, Clinton National Security Advisor
>>Will Marshall, founder Democratic Leadership Council
Dennis Ross, Clinton Middle East coordinator
>>Charles Schumer, U.S. Senator
Stephen Solarz, former Democratic Congressman
James Steinberg, Clinton Deputy National Security Advisor
>>James Webb (ex-Republican), Virginia senator (D)
Now you understand why Hillary, DLC, and so many democrat establishment enthusiastically supported Bush's war. Their so-called criticism of it today, if any, is only that Bush screwed up the execution, not that it's wrong and ill-fated to begin with.
Neocon encompasses the worst of liberalism and conservatism, and the worst of activist foreign policy and greed.
And you support Hillary/DLC?
If it's Hillary vs McCain, I'd have to either stay away or vote for McCain. At least he's not a closet neocon.
Yes, I'm taking some risk with Obama. Still beats taking a known big lemon any day.