Discussing the Damon Video

Alastair Rankine, the proprietor of girtby.net and a regular commenter here, posted a thoughtful reaction to the Matt Damon video clip I put up yesterday. I decided to reproduce what he wrote and give my response here, since it's a discussion worth having. Please add your thoughts in the Comments.

Alastair said:

Actually I disagree, this is not credible commentary.

Simply saying "I don't know who she is" is typical wingnut FUD-talkin'. You don't know who she is and what she stands for? Why not go and find out before blabbing all over the internets? This is fundamentally an argument from ignorance: I don't know about you therefore you must be bad.

Let's not go after her for her folksy style (however annoying it might be) or relative obscurity. Palin's got some wacky views so lets address *those*. Damon touched on some of them, but refuting them wasn't the overall message I got from that rant.

Someone needs to tell Damon about Obama, specifically what he's about and about how he's approaching the campaign. The way to get on board the train to a better America is to focus on the *issues*. On the problems faced by America and how they can be solved. It's about real outcomes, and about acting from rational thought and not just from (often negative) emotion.

This is not just a calculated focus-group-led campaign strategy, this is (AFAICT anyway) a genuine conviction on the part of our candidate, and something we should support whether or not it has legs politically. And the more we keep focus on this, the better off we'll all be.

So yes, lets argue on the facts and the record of the candidate. But lets ignore the perceived personality flaws, the cheap shots and the FUD.

Here is my response.

You make a number of good points. You articulate complaints I have with our political process. Everything you say, I agree with. You're right: this is not credible commentary.

Unfortunately, your remarks perfectly demonstrate why the Democrats keep losing presidential elections.

You and I and many others would like all voters to be informed citizens. We are the sort of people who visit campaign web sites and look for specifics in policy proposals. We read newspapers. We listen to debates and speeches for more than the zingers. We have an awareness of history. We are not driven by fears of shadowy enemies abroad or in our midst, or by vacuous homilies about honor and love of country.

Sadly, many, many people are not at all like this. It is a fact of political life, particularly so in America, that millions of people who do vote don't vote on anything close to the issues. They make no effort whatsoever to learn about the candidates, their records, and their positions. They vote for any number of irrational and flat-out dumb reasons, just about all of which can be summarized by saying they pick the made-for-TV representation of the candidate they like best.

The right wing has understood this far better than centrists and the left for at least as long as my entire adult life. The current campaign epitomizes this. John McCain has nothing to sell except a forty-year-old story about being a POW, his consciously and cynically crafted "maverick" image, and appeals to the ignorant who instinctively hate "elites." To the extent that he has said anything specific about the issues, he is indistinguishable from George Bush. That George Bush's approval ratings have been at 30% for months while McCain still polls near tied with Obama speaks volumes about just how irrational many voters are.

For the past year, McCain, his campaign, and the right-wing noise machine, led by Fox News and AM radio bloviators, have spent the overwhelming bulk of their time and money doing nothing but smearing Obama. The mainstream media has aided them in this effort: in their preference for what titillates rather than what matters, they have treated trivialities and outright lies about Obama as the most important stories.

So, to this video of Matt Damon specifically, I'd say, first, that turnabout is fair play. "What do we really know about Barack Obama?" has been the main message of the GOP since Obama first pulled ahead in the primaries. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

More importantly, what Damon says about Palin is essentially true. It is phrased as FUD-inducing questions, but it does speak to these truths: very little is known about her, there is a dearth of available information, and she and the McCain campaign are doing their level best to ensure that she never answers any questions. To the extent that one can tell, she is woefully unprepared to be president, and this is by far the most important consideration when evaluating a vice-presidential candidate. Further, from what little can be found about her past, she shows a pattern of extremely worrisome attitudes -- an anti-science, fundamentalist mindset, a history of seeking vengeance for political and personal reasons, and a willingness to rewrite history. During her convention and on the campaign trail since, she has continued to repeat a flat-out lie about one of the most important decisions she made as governor, despite being called on it by any number of prominent news organizations.

So, for me, the thing to keep in mind is this: You can't govern if you don't win. Overwhelmingly, the informed voters are already sold on Obama, or at least, are against McCain as McSame. However, there are millions of other people who will not vote based on the issues, or even the current state of the union, but who instead respond only to visceral appeals. You have to find other ways to reach out to them. You can't pretend this isn't so. That's the mistake liberals and the Democrats always make.

You're right: the Damon clip is not credible commentary, by our high standards. But it is an effective appeal to people's emotions, and given the reality that not everyone is like us, we cannot afford not to employ such tactics.