Hillary misspeaking...er, lying. about what happened in Bosnia 12 years ago may be her Howard Dean scream, the Quayle "potatoe" moment, Dukakis in an ill-fitting helmet riding in a tank, or a George Allen "macaca." One that reminds voters of what they might fear about the candidate and lets that dominate the media. Dean (crazy), Quayle (dumb), Dukakis (weak on military), and Allen (racist) become hard to shake when the candidate themeselves provide the ammo to "ground" a negative idenity. This nearly innoculates them from success as they reinforce a negative dramatic vision of their personae. Maybe Hillary can ask hubby Bubba how one should tell the truth. I did not have sexual relations with... Oh wait, he did.
Remember kids, you want a sane person on the other end of that red phone, not one that thinks she's under attack.
Take aways:
1. Meaning is co-created -- just because you say it doesn't make it so, your audience participates in the construction of a symbolic reality.
2. Today's technology and media cycles make it harder for you to try and recreate your image, especially when you leave behind such easy targets.
Gotta run, I'm under fire...head down, zig zag.
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