Barack Obama Speaks

In his essay published in Foreign Affairs, Barack Obama discusses his take on the current American foreign policies and his intended plans as a possible-future president of America. He follows the footsteps of Republican candidates, and sells his candidacy in the marketplace of emotions with a lot of help from the grand narratives of fond leaders of the past …

clipped from www.foreignaffairs.org COMMON SECURITY FOR OUR COMMON HUMANITY At moments of great peril in the last century, American leaders such as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy managed both to protect the American people and to expand opportunity for the next generation. What is more, they ensured that America, by deed and example, led and lifted the world — that we stood for and fought for the freedoms sought by billions of people beyond our borders. Today, we are again called to providevisionary leadership. After thousands of lives lost and billionsof dollars spent, many Americans may be tempted to turn inward and cede our leadership in world affairs. But this is a mistake we must not make. America cannot meet thethreats of this century alone, and the world cannot meet them without America. We can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission. We mustlead the world, by deed and by example.

Vendor of Ideas in a Marketplace of Emotions

An Analysis of Essays by Senator Clinton and Senator McCain

I am currently reading a fascinating book called The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding The Fate of The Nation by Drew Westen (Summary Available on Related Works Page). Very early in the book Westen writes,

“In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins. Elections are decided in the marketplace of emotions, a marketplace filled with values, images, analogies, moral sentiments, and moving oratory, in which logic plays only a supporting role.”

Westen provides ample evidence to support his claim, including among others, examples of campaign advertisements and political speeches from past elections. He asserts that Republicans are better vendors in the marketplace of emotions than Democrats, and that is precisely why Republican candidates win most elections despite many polls showing that the average voter agrees with Democratic positions on most policy issues. Through his book, Weston wanted to help those many Democratic voters, and especially the Democratic leaders, in answering their pressing question: “Why the hell can’t we win?!”

Granted I haven’t read the whole book yet, but in my opinion, Westen answered their question very effectively. I (and I assume, he) would have thought that after so many failed elections and so much excellent analysis available, Democratic leaders will now know how to campaign better. But if Westen compared Senator Clinton’s and Senator McCain’s essays published in Foreign Affairs this month, I bet he was shaking his head in disappointment like I was!

Before I engage in any analysis of their essays, I would like to state clearly that I am no saint – I am biased like all other humans! I am a liberal, and in this particular election (although its too early to say) I really do support Hillary Clinton! I would also say here, I am not a fan of the current administration. There, now that that’s off my chest, we can move on…

Hillary Clinton has always struck me as a brilliant woman and a capable leader, who knows her politics – both domestic and foreign. Therefore, her essay in Foreign Affairs was no surprise to me! Her essay proved that she is intellectually qualified to be a president, and if she was given a chance, she would think out-of-the-box and lead America in restoring its standing in the world.

Clinton’s goal as a president is beautiful summed up in her essay’s title : Security and Opportunity for the Twenty-First Century. Clinton’s grand narrative, if you will, rests on those two simple words – Security, Opportunity. The task of achieving these two things, she says, rests on diplomacy. Throughout the essay she provides tangible ideas to bring a change in American foreign politics.

On Iraq, She Says: “As president, I will convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council and direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home, starting within the first 60 days of my administration.” She will do this by reallocating the financial aid given to Iraq; engaging in intensive diplomatic initiative that may devise appropriate incentives for Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey to stay out of a civil war; working with UN High Commissioner for Refugees to address the Iraqi Refugee problem; and countering terrorism by using specialized units to engage in targeted operations against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. She also presents various incentives to help the returning “brave soldiers,” such as modernizing GI Bill of Rights.

On Afghanistan, She Says: “The forgotten frontline in the war on terror is Afghanistan, where our military effort must be reinforced. The Taliban cannot be allowed to regain power [...] We must seek to dry up recruiting opportunities for the Taliban by funding crop-substitution programs, a large scale road-building initiative, institutions that train and prepare Afghans for honest and effective governance, and programs to enable women to play a larger role in society.”

On Energy Issue, She Says: “We must create formal links between the International Energy Agency and China and India and create an “E-8″ international forum modeled on the ‘G-8′ “

On Diplomacy, She Says: “Leadership requires a blend of strategy, persuasion, inspiration and motivation. [...] Avoid false choices driven by ideology: force versus diplomacy, unilateralism versus multilateralism, hard power versus soft. There is a time for force and a time for diplomacy; when properly deployed, the two can reinforce each other. [...] Use our military not as the solution to every problem but as one element in a comprehensive strategy.[...] Make international institutions work, and work through them when possible.”

Whether you agree with Clinton’s ideas or not, there is no debate that her essay was content-driven, and actually presented her ideas in a intellectual fashion. If we lived in a “Marketplace of Ideas,” and Clinton and McCain were the only two vendors, Clinton would be the richer one hands down! Unfortunately for Clinton, and fortunately for McCain, we live in a “Marketplace of Emotions” and there, McCain knows better the art of selling!

McCain’s essay was a cluster of narratives very close to the American heart. Every opportunity he got, he evoked the web of emotions (or networks, as Westen calls them) related to American political culture.

He began his essay with “Since the dawn of our republic,” making it seem like the reader is a not reading a political essay by a presidential candidate rather an inspirational story about a great nation called America. He quickly follows it up with: “We are, as Alexander Hamilton said, “a people of great destinies.”" This isn’t the only time McCain evokes the memory of the fond leaders of the past. Through out his essay, he quotes – President Truman, President Roosevelt, President Kennedy, President Reagan, President George H.W.Bush, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson. This list of leaders is complemented by his inclusion of landmark documents such as the Declaration of Independence.

It could be argued that McCain is addressing these past leaders and doctrines with genuine affection and respect for them, and not, as cynics like Westen and I might argue, as political tools in selling his candidacy. By no means am I saying that McCain doesn’t genuinely believe in the historical ideals of America. But quoting the past presidents and our country’s founders doesn’t prove that he believes in them anymore than Hillary Clinton. Before you dispose my view as a cynic’s opinion, let me prove to you that McCain is very conscious of the emotions he is trying to elicit from his readers and the effect his selection of words will have on them…

One of the few tangible ideas that McCain presents is a creation of a League of Democracies: a common organization linking democratic nations in addressing various transnational issues. Now if Westen’s theory of networks of neurons (“nerve cells that work together to generate our experience of the world”) is assumed to be true, the name ‘League of Democracies’ will immediately tap into our memory of the ‘League of Nations,’ which will then most likely remind any person with the basic knowledge of American history of ‘failure’, ‘doomed effort’,'weakness’. Anything paralleled to League of Nations will activate our association to a “diplomatic mishap.” If McCain was ignorant of the power of associations, he would not be concerned with the similarities in the names of the two organizations. But McCain, very smartly, writes: “This would be unlike Woodrow Wilson’s doomed plan for the universal-membership League of Nations. Instead, it would be similar to what Theodore Roosevelt envisioned: like minded nations working together for peace and liberty.” McCain’s immediate move to disassociate his League of Democracies from the League of Nations, proves my point: he is not only aware of the power of associations, He is using it to his advantage!

Also to his advantage, McCain openly embraces Ideology. He write: “As president, I will employ every economic, diplomatic, political, legal, and ideological tool at our disposal [...].” As opposed to McCain’s stance, Clinton writes: “We must return to a pragmatic willingness to look at the facts on the ground and make decisions based on evidence rather than ideology. [...] Avoid false choices driven by ideology.” Clinton is appealing to the readers’ rational mind, and McCain to their emotional one.

And as Westen already declared: “In politics, when reason and emotion collide, (*DRUM ROLL*) emotion invariably wins!”

To those of you who read my earlier blog, I want to say, “I know what you are thinking!” According to the latest Gallup Poll, Hillary Clinton is leading with 32% of the registered voters saying they will definitely vote for her. John McCain lags behind with only 11% of the voters. You are wondering: If John McCain is really a better vendor in the marketplace of emotions, how then is Hillary Clinton leading by not 1%, not 2% but 21%?!

I do have a couple of answers.

First, Clinton’s essay is not totally devoid of narratives of American values and ideals, just like McCain’s essay is not totally devoid of content! It is true that McCain evokes emotional narratives more than Clinton, but whenever Clinton does tap into those emotional networks, she too wins brownie points!

Second, Hillary may also garner votes from those who see her as a return to the emotionally-dear Clinton Era. After all, Bush’s approval rating according to the October Gallup Poll is at its lowest at 32%. If you want to get farther away from Bush, where better to go than Hillary?! While it is possible that voters might make this decision based on policy analysis, it is more likely that its their “gut” feeling that’s leading them towards Hillary. Afterall, even the name “Clinton” carries with it a certain charisma and fond memories of times-gone-by, of an era before terrorism was such a blatant reality, of a period when the world seemed a little simpler!

Third, policies do matter! I don’t intend to say (and neither does Westen) that policies hold no importance. But how you sell them is equally important for it decides how many people you will win over! Many people believe that what went wrong in Iraq is inadequate planing. In contrast to the current administration, Hillary Clinton is offering tangible plans to map out the course her presidency would take! It must be a relief to many Americans that someone is thinking ahead – not just when it comes to Iraq, but various other issues.

So what does Hillary have to do to win? Keep doing what she is doing, but do it better! She is right on the money in terms of her policies and plans. Now she really has to sell them! Pour her heart out to the American People! Appeal to their emotions, their values, their moral sentiments! Dress reason in the pretty and colorful clothes of emotions!

Only then will she be the last woman standing in the combined Marketplace of Emotions and Ideas!