The study of politics involves reading the tea leaves - what one very savvy businesswoman at the top of her field told me she does everyday to see which way the wind is blowing in her company. She listens for what is being said, but more importantly what isn't.
Wherever you work, what you see is rarely what you're going to get unless you work in a minimally political arena. Few of us do.
In highly political divisions or organizations, formally sanctioned rules are only involved when they serve the interests of the people in power.
In pathologically politicized contexts, daily interactions are fractious. Nearly every goal is achieved by going around the formal procedures. People distrust each other - even ones who used to enjoy mutual regard. Information massaging is the only form of communication. Barring an early turn-around, a quick demise is the most merciful outcome for such organizations. This rarely occurs before scavengers take what they can and move on to wreak more damage elsewhere.
Does that sound like one of the political parties? And if we do some tea-leaf reading here, unless they reverse the intense animosity among people who actually share more views than they don't, those in the press now taking sides with little or no regard for accuracy will, no doubt, be there to not only preside over the demise but to facilitate it.
That's the thing about pathological politics. It's pathologically addictive.
As I tell my children: If people are mean to others, even if you think they're friends, eventually they're going to turn on you.
It's time to calm down and think straight. We have some mutual persuading to do.
Forcing Clinton to drop out isn't the answer. It will leave extensive, irreparable damage. And many in the press will have a field day with that.
Those Democrats who think it'll take a few fun picnics to bring the two sides together forget that hell hath no fury like anyone scorned.
No, it's going to take impressive persuasion. It's going to, like it or not, involve finding a way to resolve the Michigan and Florida debacle created by people other than the candidates - and doing so while Clinton is still in the race. Or else, to her supporters, it may look as if she was set-up right from the beginning.
It's going to require the perception, hopefully accurate, that high regard exists between the two candidates - a sentiment so sturdy the media can't undo it.
And, wait for it, whoever wins the nomination is going to have to offer the other the vice presidency even if he or she won't take it.
And those painful steps are just for starters.
I've studied persuasion for a long time. Some at the apex of the Democratic Party are "maneuverers." That type always underestimates people and overestimates their own skills. As a result, they're inevitably wrong. Their machinations are discovered and trust is out the window.
For them, though, it may only mean moving on to another high-paying job. For us it means President John McCain.
Dr. Reardon also blogs at politicsdoc.
Posted May 9, 2008 | 10:47 AM (EST)