Carte Blanche and other Credit Cards
I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. I often thought political commercials could just substitute names for any candidate running. "Doug Smith cares about you. He cares about children, and the environment. He'll keep your taxes low, the parks clean, and every four years, Doug will make sure the road in front of your house is paved. Doug. Doug is a proud American."
Sure enough, yesterday, National Public Radio reported on a firm that provides canned advertisements to (mainly local) candidates. The firm mass produces television spots, complete with pans of parks, the American Flag, the Capitol Dome fading in the background. Only the name changes for different candidates, the message remains the same. NPR was all abuzz -- how can cookie-cutter, "stock" message be pertinent? But isn't that, really, all we get?
Back a Republican into a corner -- and you'll hear "tax and spend liberals." Just yesterday Bush said, "The Democrats are acting like a teenager with a new credit card". Never mind this year's budget for Iraq (as proposed by Bush) is 10% higher than just last year.
Or, bring up Iraq and the conversation will surely lead to the events of September 11, 2001. Despite the 9/11 Commission findings to the contrary, Bush still links 9/11 and Iraq. And if Bush doesn't, the Veep will.
Carl Rove's claim to fame was his ability to come up with the "bumper sticker line":
"Cut and Run Liberals", "Hit them there so we don't have to fight 'em here", and let's not forget, "yes, but Hillary's a bitch."
Now, you notice I (I can just hear a few of you moaning AHA I KNEW HE WAS A LIBERAL) I didn't get into the Democratic daily talking points. I'll let you responders do that. "Bush is dumb" doesn't further the argument any more than "Hillary's a bitch".
My roundabout point is this: stock messages are effective with an American Public that doesn't want to go deeper into content. Stock messages are also polarizing: when is the last time you heard a bipartisan stock message? WAIT! I can tell you: immediately after 9/11. Then, the tag line, Republican and Democrat alike, was "proud to be an American" and "Always remember".
The problem is, Congress took that deep anger, that pain America felt seeing our grounds attacked, and handed Bush the biggest credit card of all under the banner of "protect us". And that Carte Blanche, was spent like a teenager with his first Visa.