What Is Obama's Story?

Almost every single thing Palin said in her speech the other night turns out to be just a lie -- and it doesn't matter. She now has 58% favorability among the public. And she has a story. Within a day of the Palin announcement a well-informed, liberal, Democratic, pro-choice friend told me that Palin is "a reformer" -- "just like McCain."

Here is what the Republicans understand: facts don't matter, stories do. So knowing this, they just lie and say anything they want as long as it reinforces the story. How do you fight this? Getting bogged down refuting the lies can never work because they'll just make up a ton more lies for you to refute and you can't keep up. Meanwhile, they keep reinforcing the story while you're mired in the refutation. This is why almost every single thing Palin said in her speech turns out to be just a lie. But look how her STORY has taken hold! The story overcomes all the lies, even though the entire story is based on the lies.

The Obama campaign was the beneficiary of just such a story during the primaries. Obama became the great progressive transformation that we all want, while Hillary came to represent the past. She became NAFTA and DLC and lobbyists. Once these stories took hold there was nothing at all Hillary could do about it. Everything started to reinforce it. "Experience" came to mean "Bill" which meant the past.

THAT is how a story works. Facts just get in the way. (NOTE I am not saying that Obama's story was based on lies, I am saying the power of a STORY took over and swamped Hillary.)

This is the power of - and the reason for - the "elite" storyline they are trying so hard to establish. If it can take hold there is nothing that can be done about it. So far it is just a little bit too unbelievable. But we have seen how they have tried to tell one story after another, to see if one sticks.

So what IS Obama's STORY today? The FISA swing and a few things like that got rid of the "great progressive transformation" story that won the primaries. What does he represent and how do we drive the new story? How do we establish a negative story about McCain that sticks?

Remember how at the end of the Kerry campaign people still were saying that they didn't understand what Kerry and the Democrats were about, were for, etc? They were saying that there was no story.

What is the Obama story, in a sentence? McCain is the maverick who will change Washington, and so is Palin-the-reformer. That is a story. It is a story because they said it is.

What is the Obama story? See the forest.

Comments

[Alvarask]

The instant popularity of an outright EVIL person who wants women to be second class citizens and animals to be murdered from helicopters is some of the best evidence available that Reagan's initiation of a long term process of dumbing down the Americans population to the point where they could be manipulated with ease, was a great success. America has more stupid people in one place than the world could ever have believed was possible.

[fanofann]

I have been watching the numbers on pollster. com for a month.
Over the past 4 weeks Barack Obama has gone from 284 electoral votes to 260 ev
Little by little
John McCain 154 up to 179ev

The trend has been 100% in McCain's favor. A 49 ev transfer to his side.

before everyone jumps on me,

1. The first phase is denial

2. The source I use is a composite of several polls, not just one or two or three. It is the trend which concerns me. I check the SAME source daily, apples to apples.

3. No human being on the planet wants Obama to be the next president more than I do. I drank the kool-aid years ago, and the flavor is still sweet.

4. If you keep making the same mistakes and keep expecting different results, that is insanity. Obama keeps saying this, but he is not doing it.

5. I have not seen one single ad from the Obama campaign that would cause an undecided voter to do anything other than leave the room.

6. Make ads that are Memorable. What the hell is wrong tith this campaign?? Hasnt anyone taken Advertising 101?

7. Make ads for people who hate Obama. There are millions of people who would vote for the Democrats in Nov, but they do not like the cult around Obama. Many were Hillary supporters.Make ads for Democrats.

[research]

Good points and ideas.

We must not take anything for granted, till Obama is safely in the white house.

Does anybody know why the dem convention is before the Repubs?

My undecided friends have all sent my very negative articles, true, about Palin.

I am still hopeful.

[linden]

But you are assuming that every voter is just a sheep being led to the slaughter. Not true. People see through these gimmicks. Palin is brand new to the scene. She's a novelty and a curiosity, and her star will fade. Come on, give us some credit! More people see through this sham than you realize.

[DAVESEAN]

OBAMA EQUALS CHANGE

[Ponzipuppet]

I know McCain 2000, and you McCain 2008 are no McCain 2000!

McCain 2000 was sometimes a maverick who voted against his party. McCain 2008 has voted with Bush 90% of the time for the past 2yrs.

McCain 2000 called the religious right "agents of intolerance." McCain 2008 selected one for VP, courted endorsement from Rev. Hage and given speeches at Falwell's unaccredited university.

McCain 1970s cheated on the wife who had waited for him while he was a POW. McCain 2008 is Mr. Family Values?

[parisblues]

Please allow me to add one more point to my previous post:

FUTURE: 5) An equitable distribution of the tax burden.
PAST 5): 15% federal income tax on unearned income and capital gains (for those wives with the $300,000 outfits); 28% tax for those of us who have to work for a living.

[M1]

The polls are going to go all over the place in the next week. I would not worry so much. The banks and financial institutions are collapsing, the job loss mounting....just keep the National Debate on the economy and the last 8 yrs of failed Bush policies and focus on McCain not Palin. Mccain supports these failed policies.

Now it is time to stop debating issues and just call it like it is.....the Republicans are liars and are running a scam on the American public. Focus on the redistribution of wealth and remind people that this has become all out class warfare....remind them where they really stand in relationship to the small Republican party elite who now has the majority of this country's wealth in their pocket and seek to cut off funding for social programs like the Federal dept. of education..remind them that after this election they too are disposable....considered by Republicans as economically illiterate, whinners, who are already medically insured because they can go to an emergency room in a County hospital.

[RGray]

Actually, it is very simple. Sarah Palin is a Republican affirmative action pick. This election is all about black and white - always has been and will be until all the votes are counted. Ms. Palin, whatever her qualifications or lack thereof, will attract the voter that will not vote for the black candidate. Neat trick, huh?

[DoTheMath]

Obama is a careful, thoughtful LEADER, who works effectively with others to solve our problems (as opposed to a reckless, impulsive troublemaker, who sings about bombing Iran, talks tough to nuclear-powered Putin with zero resources to back up his threats, and shows his goodwill toward the Washington colleagues whose cooperation he needs by calling them nasty names).

[gconners]

"She now has 58% favorability among the public." Could someone please explain what this means? Favorability as what? A person? A mom? A Governor? It can't possibly mean as the Vice President!

[mezz1962]

Ok Obama's story

He was born a poor black child. Moved around lived with a drug dealer and snorted cocaine. Found out he would not actually have to work because when he speaks the heavens open up to him and now we are finding out he has no experience no plan but he could talk the white off of whity

[Dave Johnson - Huffpost Blogger]

Typical Republican nastiness.

[americarocks]

This is when I miss Tim Russert. Chris Matthews and David Gregory and most of the heads let the republican strategists come on and regurgitate their talking points without calling them on any of the lies. That is not journalism. Thankfully we have Rachel Maddow who is savvy enough to challenge the 'story'.

[dawnbc1]

SUPERB critique! Can you get hired on his campaign asap, Dave? They need you.

[kaygee]

Obama 's success with voters PROGRAMMED McCain's choice of Palin. Now we have two candidates out of four who are inexperienced.

[carlota]

A story is just a story and it will always have some truths, some half truths and in some cases outright lies in it. Obama's story hasn't changed, it has just been eclipsed by a more current and definitely more bizarre one.

Obama is the can-do kid. His story is that he overcame odds to get where he is, and unlike Palin's story, it's actually true and real. Never mind his past, he is still overcoming odds: the media never coddled him, a strong and vocal faction of his own party needed convincing to nominate him. And, he manages all the crap that has been hurled his way with a dignity not usually seen in politicians.

Still, somehow we're expected to swallow that a pretty, middle-class white girl, cheerleader from a small town in Alaska, um, represents the underdog and fought the system to get where she is. She may have fought, but she didn't fight the system. She is the system, she just rode it, to the top. Add to that the fact that for whatever reason, the media is coddling her and republican men are calling her "hot". She is the political equivalent of the popular girl in school and that story usually has a sad ending.

[Alvarask]

Yes. Pregnancy.

[Zheegool]

2 parts to the story

1. Don't refute the lies, just make their lying a story in itself. O keeps saying "they've been in charge for the last 8 years" . Need to be specifically and forcefully recite what has happened and making it stick to McSames shoes:
- Nepotism (Miers, Gonzales, firing of lawyers)
- Incompetence (Katrina, Economy)
- Treason (Plame)
- Lies, Lies and more lies
Independents who a reminded of this will then become much more receptive to O's message.

2. Obama's story is actually much tougher. It can't be a personal story like Pale or Palin. For the electorate that has still to be converted, his story doesn't resonate.
So focus on 3 aspect (in order of priority):
i) Intelligence. He's smart. We need a smart person. We had a C grader and he ran the country as you'd expect from a C grader. Done properly this will counter uppity , highlight the lack of intellgence on the GOP ticket and make McBush seem like the riskier choice.
ii) Age. How can someone who can't use a computer be a leader of the next generation. Reinforce capability and intelligence, and risk.
iii) Middle class. Onto something with the 7 houses.O represents the american dream much more than McPOW. Palin is also Middle Class, but they should not be allowed to claim they represent this class.

Dems are all over the place. Need focus. O's doing a brilliant job in responding to Palin. But I agree, the

[timm0]

You are right about making their lying an issue. It's a critical issue. They lie, the bush admin lies, palin lies about firing the safety director over "budget" in order to cover up abuse of power.

The dick-ish trick these dopes pull later on is picking some obscure fee that was raised at some point as "proof" that Obama "lied" about raising taxes. So if Obama wants to refute the allegation now, the best offense is to build the "they are lying scum" message and end with the question, "If mccain's so sure I'm going to raise taxes, then let's here what taxes they are. I've outlined my tax plans to undo the breaks given to millionaires in 2000 - what does he know about me that I don't know and why doesn't he tell us?"

Something like that... draw them out into that argument.