- Mr. Ayres made mention of something Luntz addresses in his book: The sincerity of the candidate matters. The candidate cannot use “words that work” if the voters don’t think the candidate is being sincere or authentic. Pundits have said that Palin’s use of informal language and colloquialisms is what she’s doing to connect with voters and seem more real or sincere. However, polls have shown a drastic increase in her unfavorables, and as discussed in class, KU students tended to dial her down when she used such language in the debate. Taking all this into consideration, first, I want to know if you think a legitimate link exists between her use of language and unfavorables; and second, if you were advising Palin, how would you address these issues in the few remaining weeks?
- In informal conversations with several of my classmates, I have gotten the impression that most generally have an unfavorable opinion of Dr. Luntz and his book; however, Dr. Lakoff was well-received by most in the class. Even if this was not your opinion, I would like to know, what is the difference between what Dr. Luntz is doing and what Dr. Lakoff is doing? I realize that Dr. Lakoff addresses his partisanship, while Dr. Luntz pretends to be nonpartisan in his work, but are there other significant differences? If not, why does the partisanship issue matter?
- Several of our readings have mentioned the impact an image can have on voters/consumers in conveying a message, and Mr. Strother spoke previously about the impact some of the strongest political ads have had. If you have not already seen Jim Slattery’s latest adds, please view them at the following links:
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhEm2V-VJ8o
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2-19zEkudM
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Those ads have Grettaman Group written all over them -- the same company that did the state fair ads Dr. B brought to our attention. I'd bet a Diet Coke Grettaman did 'em. I think you're right that they push the limit of acceptability for a lot of potential voters, but probably more so for supporters of Pat Roberts. What makes them work? They're "sticky" because they're unique.
Now, back to the first question, which I skipped because those Slattery ads were so sticky (no pun intended) I had to watch them twice just for laughs. Palin may be using simple language to appear more authentic, or she may be authentically that simple. If I were consulting her, I'd say save it for the whistlestops and just drop a few strategically placed "youbetchas" during the debate. (too late now I guess)
Second question: I love throwing Burke around, so I'll just say that a criticism says as much, if not more, about the critic as it does the critiqued.
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