Nice harpoon ya got there…
My mom always taught me- “Never talk sex, politics or religion with people…until they’ve had their second drink.”
Everyone has become a consultant in this year’s election. Constantly asking one another their opinions. People want to know what I think of the candidates as a whale hunter… AS A WHALE HUNTER! Reeeeaaalllllyyy? From that vantage point, I honestly don’t have an opinion. But, I do think about their harpoons…
Harpoon: (n) [in the whalehunting metaphor]– 1. The idea or advantage that gets the attention of your prospect and is compelling enough to hold that attention through the entire sales process.
The two pairs of candidates have similarities–inexperience, old Beltway white guys, glass-ceiling breakers, and of course, the same harpoon: “Change…and we mean it more than they do!”
No wonder it’s been a couple of decades since we had a landslide election. But back to the point, I don’t necessarily want to debate this myself (I haven’t had my second drink yet). I’d like a little help here. Whatever the “harpoon” is that has gotten your attention and will keep it through the election? Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin? I’m interested in hearing which of their harpoons work for you.
The harpoon that really has my attention is the one that is aimed squarely at my paycheck–taxes. I am of the opinion that we pay enough in taxes and we need to reduce government to match the income. Therefore, the economic and taxation plan favored by McCain-Palin works for me.
Some people refer to the higher tax structures of certain European countries as an indication that we don’t pay enough taxes. One huge difference–in those countries, society generally relies on government to use those taxes to help people that we help in this country through other means such as United Way, individual and corporate contributions.
McCain-Palin.
1Even though it is only 9:49a.m. I have had my second drink (green tea). I like McCain Palin because of thier tax policy on business. In my opion if this country goes with the democrat ticket thier tax policy will make it harder on business to make a profit and expand our economy. One thing that this government has to do is something that the American people have to as well, get a grip on spending and cut waste. We as Americans have to start taking personal responcibility for our own lives and stop looking for the government to be the answeer to our problems. We have to stop complaining and start working. We have to stand behind what ever ticket wins and come together as Americans. We as business people have to look at new ways to profit no matter who gets in, and if we cannot do that we have to realize that it is our own fault, not Washingtons. We live in the greatest country in the world with more opportunity than anyone else and all we do is complain. The rest of the world wants the freedoms that we complain about. We need to be proud of our communities, our families, our country, our leaders, our employees, and leave this world better than we found it.
2I agree with Tom that the primary harpoon for both parties is “change”. They both claim that Washington is bad and that they are the answer. They both ridicule the other for either their ties to the existing administration or their lack of credible track record to believably claim an ability to create change. Pretty weak stuff.
I am an avid capitalist and government minimalist, so I look at the Obama voting record and intention to tax “windfall profits” (what in the hell are those?) and cringe. With that bias away from Obama-Biden, I have been attracted to two “mini-harpoons” of McCain. The first is “win first” as it applies to withdrawing from Iraq. The second is to address the deficit (critical in my mind) through overall tax increases rather than targeting businesses and the wealthy exclusively. All Americans have a responsibility to contribute to the solutions of our problems and the safeguarding of our future…just as they have a right to the opportunities of life, liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness that a future strong America may provide us.
3You mentioned landslide – I was listening to an old Dennis Miller bit that was done towards the end of Reagan’s Presidency. He was commenting that Walter Mondale got 3 electoral votes after spending $40M on his campaign while he (Dennis) got only 3 fewer votes and didn’t spend anything on a campaign. Reagan knew his harpoon and how to differentiate it from him opponents.
Now we have two sets of candidates that prominently featured the word “change” in their conventions. The voters get the opportunity to decide who knows change (I know change he was a friend of mine, you’re no change). My fear is that the decision by too many voters will be based on what color outfit Mrs. Obama has on, or who speaks the best, or how Mrs. Palin looks on any given day rather than substantive issues. But, after all this is what makes America great.
4My take on the governmental harpoon is that the smaller the better when it comes to taxes and healthcare. Inheritance tax repeal should be made permanent as well as keeping government out of healthcare. I have seen first-hand the government healthcare systems in the Baltic countries. People have grown up in that environment and are used to the sub-par services they have. They have the belief that the healthcare system is “free” until you ask them what their taxes are as a % of income. I don’t want to take 2 steps back in my healthcare. The only candidate that will protect my tax rate and healthcare is McCain.
5Is there a harpoon that has been thrown at us other than “change”? The only message that either one seems to have delivered is “I’m a bigger maverick than you are”. (I’m just waiting for one of them to get James Garner to endorse them to win over the baby boomers who are old enough to remember that TV series!) However, actions speak louder than words and by paying for a TV ad that features an out of context sound bite made by his opponent and focusing on his opponent’s perceived weaknesses rather than actually telling America what his plan is, Obama seems to be playing “politics as usual”, and I’m sorry, that’s not change. I also find it interesting that the Democrat took the conservative route and chose a safe, old, white guy as his running mate and the Republican not only took a risk, it seems that he was fairly reckless in his choice. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Sarah – she and I seem to be cut from the same cloth. But, poor John seems to be fairly dazed by everthing that has happened since he made that choice!)
But, in the end you have to love American politics. McCain and Obama are smart, articulate and accomplished men who I believe are both men of intregity and true heros. They could be making tons of money somewhere but seemingly inexplicably have decided to serve their country in the most demanding way possible. We should be thankful that we have such great men to choose between.
6I’m a little surprised by all the focus on tax cuts in the comments. Of course, we’d all like to take more money home, but don’t we all have a responsibility to our country and our fellow citizens that sometimes transcends ourselves? One of the most effective “harpoons” for me was hearing Obama’s call to action in his acceptance speech. He made reference to “asking what you can do for your country,” and suggested that maybe what Americans really need is a leader who will motivate them to take responsibility and action. Tax cuts are nice and all, but nothing made me sadder after 9/11 than the fact Americans’ collective sadness and horror–something that very much transcended party lines–wasn’t tapped in a more positive way.
Right now, I feel like our democracy is struggling because the gap between the super-rich and the middle/working class is growing, and it’s the middle-working class who are being asked to make significant sacrifices (send your kids to war, try to pay for basic needs like health insurance and gas), while the wealthiest are receiving tax cuts. All as we continue to grow a deficit unlike anything we’ve seen in years.
So I guess to answer your question, Tom, I want to see harpoons that recognize the importance of the whole village, not just the maverick harpooner.
7Clearly the harpoon that most people are talking about right now is Harpoon Sarah. This woman is shaking up the landscape in a way no one could have predicted. Feminists are furious the first female VP might not be prochoice. Palin has idealogue views, but has managed from the center in AK–suggesting she is more of a pragmatist that many in the far-right guess. The good news is that both parties are engaged in a way they have not been in years. The passion and debate should help refine the issues for our country–and will hopefully lead to some real solutions.
8Like some others here, I’m keeping an ear out for a different harpoon. The “we need to change Washington and I can do it better/faster/cheaper” stories are tired, and thin. Taxes go up, taxes go down – change in Washington is a 4 year or 8 year “promise” at most. Sustained change comes from getting the “rank and file” to think and behave differently. To that end, I want a leader (yes, an actual leader) who will incent and inspire Americans to think less about next year’s taxes when they cast their votes, and instead think more about how they can personally get involved in their communities and local governments in order to create solutions and change. I’m a sole proprietor, so the tax discussion is critically important to me, but that’s not the harpoon on which I’ve based my decision.
The candidates both appeared last evening at the ServiceNation Summit to express their views on National service. Clips are on CNN.com and on http://www.servicenation.org.
9I agree with everything above. Now having said that, I think that the harpoon is not the message, I think it may be the delivery. We are watching a heavily digital election take place with literally 20+ cable and satellite stations covering this topic at any one time as well as thousands of blogs, websites, podcasts and other archivable and downloadable sources of information and opinion. On top of that, we get to watch McCain go old school and host town hall meetings much like the whistle stop train tours of the early to mid 1900′s.
10I wasn’t done when I hit return!
So once we look at delivery mechanisms which include telephone, snail mail, e-mail, instant messages, text, billboards, television, skywriting (yes it has already been tried) etc. we get to see the debates.
The debates are supposed to be about a concept called clash in which two adversaries answer questions and refute each other’s position on a point by point basis while providing alternative positions of their own. We have not seen clash since the second act of 300 on the big screen.
The harpoon will be the individual that uses the delivery mechanism to address issues with refutation that is clear and specific and alternative solutions which are credible and practical.
The games have begun
11The best harpoon is the one that misses the whale!
If a political harpoon is the message, then I want one that doesn’t kill me.
Most (maybe all) national politicians seek to get elected by telling me what they can do for me. Then when in power what they do for me is excessive, inefficient, self-serving, expensive and often corrupt. The federal government should be responsible for providing national defense and (there are probably some another things but I can’t think of any right now).
So I’m looking for the presidential candidate who says “If elected I will assure you of a strongest national defense and security system that is possible and then do everything I can to encourage you folks back home at the state and local level to solve the rest of our problems where you can do it better and less expensive”.
Never mind, I got a little dreamy there. I’ll just head for deeper waters and try to keep dodging those harpoons!
12I think the one thing that has stuck out in this election is the lack of a harpoon. Both sides, (as per ushe here lately,) have been changing their main harpoon. Obama starts with “Change” and ends up with Biden… McCain picks Palin and starts pushing “Change.”
I think the lesson to be learned is that a true harpoon should aim at the backbone of the problem. Else, you are left changing your harpoon half way through the hunt as with our continously comical lineup of politicians. I am searching for leaders, not politicos with linen lined friendships.
13I listened to the “Meet the Press” podcast from Sunday- very different since the passing of Tim Russert, he was the best. The focus was, in order of time spent:
141. Sarah Palin
2. The week’s cleverest dig-ads and responses
3. National Defense
Chuck Schumer and Rudy Giuliani were the point and counterpoint. This is probably the best political show with two very credible guests and Tom Brokaw as host, no slouch- and these were the discussion headlines? I started out this blog asking which harpoon’s were working for you- now I am curious, in the media, WHERE WOULD I FIND THEM?
You know the business of politics is completely different than running a true business, when experience is a negative. As we know it is good to have experience and be open to change because with experience we have made mistakes and learned from them.
15I know there is a different perspective from being the CEO of a company vs a manager because the responsibilities are greater.
A mayor or a governor has to make decisions that are similar to CEO’s.
It is true. Both candidates are touting change. Change alone means very little.
My concern is that most of the general public will not dig deeper to really identify what each candiate has done in the past and will likely do as President.
I favor a conservative stance. Less government, more individual accountability.
As far as Harpoons… Sarah Pailin may be a Harpoon for the conservative base for McCain. Not sure about Mr. Obama. (I should probably dig a little deeper.)
16Eli,
It was Palin’s debate to lose, not Biden’s to win. If she could keep pace, that would be a huge win- and she did that- so I think she came out as the winner by the low bar the media had set for her prior to the debate. Biden is the same guy we saw debate as a presidential candidate- for good and not so good. I happen to think he is credible and intelligent. Everyone expects that from him- no one knew what to expect from Palin. She kept up- he does not look worse- she just looks better.
I do not know if there is a circumstance where leadership does not have to consider votes- the essence of a democracy, right? There is a deep fear that if a candidate shows his hand in the current environment, (nuclear Iran, entrenched Iraq, incomplete Afghanistan, volatile North Korea, skittish Wall Street, housing market abyss… I could go on), he will have to defend one of the really bad alternatives he has chosen from the only bad alternative list. Selecting from a list of bad choices pigeon-holes a candidate. So, the candidates speak in broad brush stroke and do not put forth clear plans for what they will do because they know once they are in, they will have to push ugly choices- that is not popular in the election, but necessary once elected.
The current list of crises creates greater opportunity for deflection, rather than clarity. So, I am perceiving muddier waters around the harpoons of the candidates as they answer a question about the economy with energy independence, a question about energy independence with national security and national security questions about Iraq with Iran/Afghanistan/North Korea responses.
I think the polls are very interesting- I am hearing in the people I am speaking with a greater indecision on the election than the polls would indicate.
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