“„Ridicule is the GOP’s most reliable weapon. The political assault on Al Gore, Howard Dean, John Kerry and other Democratic leaders has centered on the right’s capacity to turn them into objects of ridicule. Right-wing talk radio is premised on the lampooning of liberals. [Obama had] deftly avoided becoming the target of right-wing derision. Like Hillary Clinton, he is disliked – and feared – by many on the right, but less often mocked or dismissed. Which is what makes Obama a dangerous foe to Republicans and Clinton a formidable nemesis.
“„McCain’s barrage had its intended effect and that there is now an acceptable way to ridicule Obama… the right-wing attack machine has been effective in the past because it serves a singular purpose: diminishing opponents through mockery and marginalization… Think of how Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh and their cohorts operate – it’s all about the laughter, the joking, the snide remarks, the scoffing. It’s about cutting someone down to size, making them look meek and meager…
“„Democratic/progressive attacks generally run the gamut from negative character association (X is just like Y) to policy contrasts (we can handle the economy better than X) to one-off hits and ‘Macaca moments’ (X flubbed the name of a country) to impugning the attacker (look how nasty my opponent is). These can be effective, particularly the latter, but they are qualitatively different from the right-wing machine’s diminishment of an opponent’s character.
“„That’s something Democrats don’t do as well. It’s less about negative frames, contrasts, rapid response and all the other mainstays of political strategy and more about making your opponent the butt of a joke.
“„Republican and Democratic campaigns test themes incessantly, both positive and negative – it’s why pollsters are always in demand. But the GOP has a functional template that Democrats lack, the political equivalent of schoolyard taunting, which they return to time and again. The right-wing machine’s amplification of those attacks is second nature, which is why the likes of a ‘Celeb’ ad catches fire.