President Barack Obama uses the power of the presidential bully pulpit to show his dismay with anyone and everyone who dares to question his version of morality
It couldn't have been planed more perfectly. President Barack Obama uses the power of the presidential bully pulpit to show his dismay with anyone and everyone who dares to question his version of morality where the war on terrorism is concerned. Just moments later, former Vice President Dick Cheney effectively rebuts the president and dismantles several of the president's talking points. The “impromptu” tele-debate made for great television. What it didn't do was move anyone to question what they believe on the issues that were presented. In fact, it simply ensconced each to his or her position.
The American public has long suffered from what I call a sitcom attention span (I blame Norman Lear but I digress). Truth be told, the limited attention span of the American people goes back to well before the invention of television, having become an increasing problem ever since the American Revolution. Politicians recognized this malady – or opportunity as they see it – right off the bat and have been taking incredible advantage of the public's limited attention span for almost as long as our country has been sovereign. It is for this reason that troublesome reports, testimonies and declarations are usually released after 2pm on Friday as Americans turn their brains off in preparation for the weekend. Where they may be outraged at something on Friday at 2pm – if in fact they even become aware of it then – by Monday it is just one more reason why all politicians can't be trusted and anyway, what are you going to do about it, right?
The politicians understanding of the capabilities of the American attention span is also the reason why savvy politicians employ ex-media operatives in their cabinets and administrations. It wasn't an accident that President Obama chose former Chicago political writer David Axelrod as a senior advisor. As a product of the Chicago Democrat Machine (The Daley Machine), Barack Obama understood the importance of controlling the message. It is all important for a politician. If you control the information that creates a news cycle then you control that news cycle. If you control the news cycle then you can always frame yourself in a light that is most flattering and that turns into elevated approval ratings and that turns into votes.
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Frank Salvato also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. His writing has been recognized by the US House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention.
