Harper's Branding Issues

[penlessej]

The Globe and Mail typically has good in depth articles. The one today by Martin Goldfarb is no exception. He talks about product branding (being a marketing expert he knows what he is talking about) and the ability of Stephen Harper to brand himself to the electorate.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080910.welxngoldfarb0910/

Comments

[sun_tzu]

I agree. He hasn't done a great job of branding himself. He doesn't photograph well, and Conservative marketing sucks too. He had the wind at his back in the last election when you could probably have run a monkey against the Liberals and won because the public at large was so angry at them.

I'm not sure what your second paragraph was meant to say, I've read it a couple of times but I think I'm missing something - did you mean to say no politician should do something to snub...? I figure at the end of a politician has to make sure his decisions favour the majority as best they can. That strikes me as why the Republicans in the US could not really run on their merits, because they have every intent to screw the masses. Instead they have to resort to personalities and marketing. The ongoing nonsense with Sarah Palin in the US is a perfect illustration. I fear situations where politicians get elected in popularity contests rather than on platform issues, and the great drawback of our system is that anyone can cast any cote for any reason - I'd love it if there was some form of mandatory voter education process. Of course, thatjust wouldn't be possible, but I can dream I guess.

[in_da_lifeworld]

That strikes me as why the Republicans in the US could not really run on their merits, because they have every intent to screw the masses.

please elaborate.

[sun_tzu]

The Republican Party this time around seems to be totally out of touch with the middle/working class in the United States. They have no interest in improving access to health care or education really, and despite their incessant griping about the Democrats raising taxes etc, the Bush administration has run staggering budget deficits, primarily to continue their campaign in Iraq, a campaign they have no plans to wind down effectively despite claiming otherwise.

The Republican election stategy normally involves moving debate away from actual issues to atttacks and in particular cashing in on "family values" and such. That's what they're doing with Sarah Palin, all style and no substance.

[penlessej]

And the Obama Democrats have substance?

[sun_tzu]

Not especially - but more than the Republicans. I want to see more details of their platfom which should be coming soon, my wife asked for more details from Democrats Abroad (she's American). They actually seem to have a cogent idea of how to improve healthcare access. They plan to shift focus from Iraq to actually dealing with Afghanistan - and they strike me as being more willing to try to find ways to engage Pakistan.

I look at it like this - Sarah Palin was chosen I think as a reaction by the Republicans to the level of momentum Obama has, because all but the core of the party I think is coming to realize that they don't want any more of what Bush sold them. He's striking chords with a lot of people on a lot of issues - talking about tax relief for working families, tax incentives to keep American companies from exporting jobs, those sorts of things I think will be popular. And hey, if McCain keeps talking about things like defining the middle class as making less than $5 million a year, and not knowing how many houses he has, the more the GOP will alienate Americans suffering under current economic conditions - similar to the ones that swept Bill Clinton into power last time the Dems held office.

It's going to be an interesting election at least.

[in_da_lifeworld]

she is on the ticket to pander to the republican base - not the moneyed base, but the christian base, which transcends class. if people care more about fetuses than the living, meh. i don't want to think about it, but this kind of thing happens. people have different expectations for the government down here.

arguably, obama's rhetoric has been less issues-based and more values-based.

[sun_tzu]

She's actually not there to pander to the Christian base though that's a good side effect - she was there to draw on the female candidate momentum I think - in the hopes perhaps of grabbing disenfranchised Hillary supporters. We'll have to see how it works out for them once all the hype burns out.

[in_da_lifeworld]

in addition to being a vagina-american, she is also a semi-swing state governor and an evangelical christian whose record on wedge issues is slightly better than mccains. i'd argue she was chosen for this, and had the side benefit of being a woman.

i have a hard time believing the PUMAs are showing up in full force just for palin. a female veep nominee is nothing new. donation records the so-called female candidate momentum failed to deliver victory for hillary. while there are some hardline feminists who want a woman at all costs, palin's legislative record is not really palatable to that demographic.

Both, Not Either/Or

[ed_rex]

...She's actually not there to pander to the Christian base...she was there to draw on the female candidate momentum...

I think you're right that she was chosen in the hopes she might draw in a significant percentage of Clinton's supporters, but she was also chosen to make sure the Republican's Christan base actually show up at the polls and vote. A lot of them see McCain as not "Christian enough", or did until Palin came on board.

Re: Both, Not Either/Or

[sun_tzu]

True enough I suppose. I've always loved that the key to Democratic success seems to hinge not on getting more votes, but on convincing the religious set to stay home.

[sun_tzu]

I've always heard California had an excellent education system - but I've always wondereed about the divide between public and private systems - and if there's a difference between juridictions, and our system's not at all perfect.

I agree about the power of the lobby though, which is why any plan is going to have to make sure it caters to the interests of the insurance business - I'm not sure if it's possible but I guess I'm a bit optimistic that it's possible.