tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post2397223150110127217..comments2024-03-10T13:59:19.230-04:00Comments on xpostfactoid: When Clinton edits ClintonAndrew Sprunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17601269968798865106noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512362.post-57318555008463480682012-09-07T15:36:24.582-04:002012-09-07T15:36:24.582-04:00An add-on to your "listen to me" observa...An add-on to your "listen to me" observations. Clinton was demanding people listen within his framing, either explicitly or implicitly, that "you be the judge." He was using his authority to get people to listen to the facts and do something with them -- process the information ("arithmetic"!) and arrive at their own understanding. <br /><br />Clearly, he was putting his thumb on the scale of how they'd look at the facts he was presenting them and he was giving them short-cuts to processing. But when people say he "treats his listeners as adults" that's what they mean -- that he's implicitly saying "you're smart enough to get this stuff".<br /><br />The magic is that he made "arithmetic" fun! He basically said, "I know you're disgusted with the political hype and spin and avalanche of "facts" that's so loud and opaque you just tune it out. So let's pull back the curtain and you and me figure out how the GOP is trying to pull a number of fast-ones they have the "brass" to think they can get away with." <br /><br />So he took folks through how the con game is played -- everybody loves dissecting a good con like figuring out "whodunnits". And he primed the audience with the reactions they should have to the steps in the con -- everything from outrage about immoral distortions of plain truth to amused appreciation at the cleverness of the con. He was so clearly having such a good time showing how each GOP con works, that it was well-nigh impossible not to follow each story.<br /><br />The old saying in narrative is to "show" not "tell." Clinton certainly did some "telling" -- e.g., his testimonial that Obama's actions saved the economy from collapse, or his claim that recovery is coming if we're patient in sticking to the right policies, which he supported with the authority of his personal experience as president. But most of what was truly captivating about his speech was his total dismantling of the GOP's politics. And that was mostly "show" -- showing how, if you just "listen to me," you too will be able to cut through the BS and figure out for yourself how the Republican candidates are trying to pull the great con.<br />nadezhdahttp://americanfootprints.comnoreply@blogger.com