Ted Belman: Sarah's branding iron frames the debate

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Ted Belman at Israpundit makes a good point. Sarah Palin has been criticized for not getting into specifics in her television appearances like she does in her Facebook op-eds. There is a good reason why she doesn't. Her Facebook Notes are for policy details. They are the reference, the debating points. But her television face time frames the debate; it is for branding:

Tell a lie often enough and people will believe it. So much more so for the truth. When you want to sell anything, you must brand it as “the best”. It is immaterial whether it is or not. And while you are at it, brand your competition as “the worst”. Selling is not appealing to the intellect but to the emotions.

The same goes for winning elections. They are all about imaging and positioning.

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Palin endeared herself to conservatives because she took on Obama in her acceptance speech. Unfortunately McCain didn’t have the fight in him and muzzled her instead. Now she is calling the shots.

By repeating her mantra in every speech or comment she makes, she is branding herself. She presents her policies as axiomatic, requiring no proof and the public is accepting them as such. She is negatively characterizing Obama and his policies.

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She is framing the debate. “my common sense v your bullcrap”

Here in Texas, where the roundup is part of our state's rich and colorful traditions, the roundup is an easy metaphor for what Sarah Palin is up to. After all, it's the roundup where the branding takes place. Television may be Marshall McLuhan's cool medium, but it serves Sarah Palin well as a red-hot branding iron. 

Read Ted's full post here.

- JP