Printing Is His Platform --DeWese
June 2004
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I don't know what's wrong with me. I've written three of these columns in the past six days. I'm usually late with each column and here I am more than 60 days early with this column.
I know! I'm inspired! Nothing worse than an inspired columnist.
Topics just keep jumping in my head. Topics are the hardest part of this column-writing job.
Topics are easy for Presidential candidates. Just give 'em a microphone, a topic and they'll make up something.
It's a high stakes marketing game. We salespeople understand.
John Kerry, a rich Boston aristocrat, speaks wearing no tie and an unbuttoned dress shirt with the sleeves rolled in casual sloppiness. He's saying to the people, "See, I'm really just one of you."
Texas Fashions
George W. Bush, a rich Texas aristocrat, on the other hand, wears a dark suit and the new power tie, which presently happens to be a shade of blue lighter than his suit. Used to be a red tie. Now it's blue. He's saying, "I'm the President 'cause I'm tendin' to the people's business wearin' this suit."
They are marketing when they speak. Selling themselves. They've got many topics to talk about, including the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, taxes, the economy, education, social services, foreign policy, domestic policy, ad nauseum, ad infinitum, etcetera, and etcetera. The biggest topic available to Presidential candidates, however, is the other guy—the opponent. More specifically, the topic is the demonization of the opponent.
Candidates have learned how to make their job easy with one liners and sound bites. These short bursts of rhetoric require no back-up facts. At most, a sound bite is about two sentences. Kerry might say, "Tell those special interest groups that we're coming, they're going and don't let the door hit them on the way out." This implies that the present administration is run by special interests without telling us which ones, and that he's kicking them all out when he gets in the White House. George W. Bush might tell us that John Kerry changes his positions on important issues in order to suit the audience or to get elected. He doesn't tell us which issues or exactly how Kerry changed his position.
I have to write at least 1,200 words, 40 to 50 paragraphs and 100 or more sentences in one of my columns. No baseless one-liners for me. Attila the Editor won't let me get away with anything that easy.
I know! I'm inspired! Nothing worse than an inspired columnist.
Topics just keep jumping in my head. Topics are the hardest part of this column-writing job.
Topics are easy for Presidential candidates. Just give 'em a microphone, a topic and they'll make up something.
It's a high stakes marketing game. We salespeople understand.
John Kerry, a rich Boston aristocrat, speaks wearing no tie and an unbuttoned dress shirt with the sleeves rolled in casual sloppiness. He's saying to the people, "See, I'm really just one of you."
Texas Fashions
George W. Bush, a rich Texas aristocrat, on the other hand, wears a dark suit and the new power tie, which presently happens to be a shade of blue lighter than his suit. Used to be a red tie. Now it's blue. He's saying, "I'm the President 'cause I'm tendin' to the people's business wearin' this suit."
They are marketing when they speak. Selling themselves. They've got many topics to talk about, including the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, taxes, the economy, education, social services, foreign policy, domestic policy, ad nauseum, ad infinitum, etcetera, and etcetera. The biggest topic available to Presidential candidates, however, is the other guy—the opponent. More specifically, the topic is the demonization of the opponent.
Candidates have learned how to make their job easy with one liners and sound bites. These short bursts of rhetoric require no back-up facts. At most, a sound bite is about two sentences. Kerry might say, "Tell those special interest groups that we're coming, they're going and don't let the door hit them on the way out." This implies that the present administration is run by special interests without telling us which ones, and that he's kicking them all out when he gets in the White House. George W. Bush might tell us that John Kerry changes his positions on important issues in order to suit the audience or to get elected. He doesn't tell us which issues or exactly how Kerry changed his position.
I have to write at least 1,200 words, 40 to 50 paragraphs and 100 or more sentences in one of my columns. No baseless one-liners for me. Attila the Editor won't let me get away with anything that easy.
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