| Bill listed attributes of all the candidates Barack and John, Joe and Sarah. He acknowledged why John and Sarah are attractive, and made the case for Barack and Joe, not on any idea of uniqueness, but on Democratic ideas.
Bill really is a super communicator. He answered those 'difficult' questions simply and clearly. He repeated what Hillary has, that she wasn't particularly interested in the VP job, but she'd have taken it if Barack asked her, because that would be her duty. He connected her Senate job to his presidential win, in that she wants to write legislation and get it passed. Bill made a plug not just for Barack, but for all the down-ticket Democrats, in saying if you want Hillary's solutions, you're going to have to help her out by electing Democrats.
Bill didn't try to 'shame' anyone for having possible race considerations, that work both for and against Barack, as gender worked both for and against Hillary. He mentioned that a percentage of voters admit they took race or sex into consideration and Bill thinks that's a good thing, because it's 'said,' it's not 'subterranean,' 'hidden,' but spoken and statistically factual, and can thus be discussed in 'daylight.'
Chris Rock, in his appearance on the Letterman Show, arguably did much to negate Barack's benefit from Bill's soft pitch. He 'interpreted' Bill as someone who really wants Barack to lose.
Now Bill is a popular guy and if there are some out there who want to vote the way Bill tells them, and if they listen to Chris and 'believe' he knows, that could lose Barack some votes. I mean, thanks a lot Chris, big help.
Thus, Bill's subtle pitch clearly went over Chris Rock's head. Chris apparently thinks Barack needs even more hyperbole. In his misunderstanding, Chris forgot that the voters Bill's trying to win aren't those who are enamored with Barack, but those not likely to get enamored (at least not until he's been elected and actually does something fantastic), and so who've been leaning toward John or toward staying home or voting third party. The same old pitch isn't going to work with these voters, and Bill acknowledged their right to be cautious.
Chris also kept alive the 'sore winner' pox that has infected Barack's most obnoxious supporters. It's not enough that Barack won the primary for these 'haters,' they're not about to let go of their anger, at Hillary and Bill, at Al, for, whatever. Chris made it seem like Barack's already lost and it's all Bill's fault.
Not smart, Chris, some of us would rather he win than whine.
I guess when someone has a fixed idea, everything they hear just corroborates their belief, whether or not it really does, so it's impossible for some to use their ears for hearing. Bill made his soft pitch to get around the possible 'fixed ideas' of some Democrats who aren't planning to vote for Barack. If only he could make a similar pitch to guys like Chris, so they won't be chasing votes away faster than Bill can bring them in. |
