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April 15, 2004
Kathleen Hall Jamieson: Civic Education, Hero Rhetoric and Political Campaigns
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke this afternoon about the need for better civic education during presidential campaigns. She began by noting how Democrat operatives have often said that President Bush has lost the most jobs since the days of Herbert Hoover. Jamieson conducted a survey asking Americans who Herbert Hoover was - most thought he was a former FBI director or inventor of the vacuum - some even said "a famous cross dresser" - but not a US president. Similarly, Republicans have called John Kerry a "Jane Fonda liberal." When surveyed, most people knew Fonda for her exercise workout videos or for her ex-husband Ted Turner, and didn't understand the political reference. Jamieson said we need to create a "common repertoire of political knowledge" in order to have intelligent civic discourse. Otherwise the average constituent will be unable to participate thoughtfully in the political process.
Jamieson said that voters make broad assumptions about political parties - who is pro-choice, who favors the death penalty, etc. This makes it harder for independent-minded candidates to get their positions known.
Jamieson showed the famous clip of Edmund Muskie in the snow criticizing the political attacks on his wife. Previous to this occasion, the press had privately sensed he had a temper but never published this concern publicly. But the clip gave the press a chance to question his emotional stability, even though the clip only hinted that this was actually an issue. This made it appear that the press were having a Muskie feeding frenzy. Jamieson said the same happened to Gore regarding his apparent "habit" to distort the truth. The press went after him following the first debate with Bush, based on his smug performance, making it appear they were biased against him, but in reality, they had been quietly questioning his habit of exaggeration for weeks. The public therefore saw the press go after him without proper context or background.
The same could be said for Howard Dean's famous scream. He was the assumed nominee, but loses in Iowa, then tries to rev up his supporters. The media treated his performance at that rally as a meltdown. Jamieson then asked all of us in the audience to yell and scream as if we were at a political rally - with all the noise, she had to yell back to connect with us and be heard. But if this very scene had been shown on tv, she would have come across as angry or even crazy.
We often view politicians as if we knew them one on one like a doctor or babysitter, she said. But tv distorts our perception: Dr Dean wouldn't seem so crazy if we had actually been there.
Jamieson then played clips of John Kerry talking solemnly about his military background, followed by an advertisement filmed by Henry Fonda dramatically retelling JFK's WWII experience. Kennedy trumped Nixon by playing the hero, she said, neutralizing the Republican's presumed strength in military affairs. Kerry is now trying to do the same, she said. But Jamieson worries that such rhetoric makes it difficult for serious issues to rise to the top of political discourse. Emotional, historic narratives can thus trump the facts, making it harder for non-hero candidates to have a fair chance. Dukakis looked foolish in a tank because he had no military background - surveys at the time suggested he looked like Rocky the Squirrel. If you lack a heroic narrative, you're seen as not being credible on military affairs, even if you actually happen to be thoughtful on the issue.
Jamieson feels we are about to replay the '88 campaign, wasting discourse on hero rhetoric rather than hold a larger debate on serious issues like each candidate's detailed views on foreign policy or homeland security. Will Bush's "mission accomplished" moment on that aircraft carrier be his Dukakis moment? Kerry already has gone after him on this account: "I know something about aircraft carriers," he said rather mockingly in a video clip shown by Jamieson. It's using soundbites and the rhetoric of heroism to gain votes through emotion, not through persuasiveness or a candidate's specific policy positions.
The last time we had a presidential election in the midst of wartime was 1968, prior to the invention of soundbite politics. Today we're unable to devote the time necessary to debate the issues intelligently. Jamieson says we need the media to devote more time to lengthy debate, and the public needs better civic education to ask probing questions of the candidates.
Jamieson also noted the impact of media ownership on campaigns. In communities with a locally owned newspaper, she said, the press is more forceful about calling candidates to task on their positions and records. Newspapers owned by media conglomerates aren't as successful at this, often because their editors are out of state and really don't know local politics or politicians, so they don't hold them as accountable.
By over-emphasizing emotional rhetoric, like debating which candidate has a more heroic biography, we take time away from serious political discourse. Campaigns must try to build on society's collective political knowledge rather than exploiting political emotions. Only lifelong civic education can make a difference in how the public relates to candidates, she concluded.
During the Q&A session, I asked Jamieson about the impact of talk radio and blogs on political discourse, particularly on audiences that use the media only to hear views they support. "I love talk radio... I love Rush Limbaugh," she said, noting how extraordinarily difficult it is to attract a loyal audience who will listen to political discussion for three hours at a stretch. The lack of political diversity in talk radio is unfortunate, she said, but conservatives should not be faulted for being so successful at it. She hoped Democrats and Greens would get better at it sooner rather than later.
Jamieson is particularly excited about political blogs, since blogs empower anyone with Internet access to express their views and generate debate. While there can be problems regarding the rapid spread of rumors and lies online, they can usually be refuted, so "the more political discussion, the better." She also seemed to get a kick out of the fact that I was blogging her response. -ac
Posted by acarvin at April 15, 2004 7:19 PM
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