In a Report today, Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett observed, "Sarah Palin remains... somewhat of an obsession to the Obama White House." And over at CNN, producer Peter Hamby tweeted, "Gibbs probably revealed that the White House thinks about Palin a little more than they like to let on." (h/t: Tommy Report)
Another way of evaluating this obsession the Obama administration has with Sarah Palin is in the strategic sense of a fighter pilot, who would say that Gov. Palin is "inside Obama's OODA Loop." The term, from the acronym for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act, is a concept from the mind of the late USAF Col. John Boyd, a former fighter pilot who wrote the first manual on jet aerial combat. Although the OODA model was originally developed for military purposes, elements of the same theory can also be applied to business strategy, law enforcement and -- yes -- to politics.
In political wars, execution of the OODA cycle can allow one to get inside the mind and decision cycle of the adversary. Boyd was influenced bythe writings of Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War 2,500 years ago:
"If you know yourself and know your enemy in a hundred battles you will not be in peril, If you know yourself and not your enemy for every battle won you will suffer a defeat, If you know neither yourself nor your enemy in every battle you will be in peril."Boyd's strategy holds that an enemy can be defeated strategically by psychological paralysis. He emphasized that strategy should always revolve around changing the enemy’s behavior, not annihilating his forces. Both Boyd and Sun Tzu advocated the ideas of harmony, deception, swiftness and fluidity of action, surprise, shock, and attacking the enemy’s strategy. If the enemy perceives the wrong threats or misunderstands what is happening in the environment around him, then he will orient his thinking (and assets) in the wrong directions and ultimately make incorrect decisions.
In the August of 2008, there was some speculation by Michael Barone and others that McCain, the old Navy fighter pilot, was pursuing an OODA strategy against Obama. But other than the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain never showed that he grasped the concept, at least as how it is applied to politics. Gov. Palin, on the other hand, seems to at least instinctively understand both the Boyd and the Sun Tzu way of taking the battle to one's opponents. She certainly knows her enemy.
So what we are seeing here is Sarah Palin's Sun Tzu and John Boyd versus Obama's Saul Alinsky. Sarah's strategic mentors are winning. Everything the White House does is a reaction to a Sarah Palin action. She is right inside their minds and inside their loop. She acts in ways they don't understand, and by the time they react, she has already confounded them again.
When Sarah Palin wrote some topics on her hand, she did nothing less than millions of ordinary Americans have done at one time or another. The reaction of the White House was to follow Alinsky and ridicule her. But they don't understand that when they ridicule Sarah Palin, they are ridiculing those millions of ordinary Americans at the same time. From inside the administration's OODA loop, Gov. Palin is making not just the White House, but all of Obama's other support troops behave in a predictable manner -- one which is perceived as elitist and frowned upon by the great majority of real folks. It only serves to widen the gap between those who occupy the seat of power and those who disapprove of the way they wield it.
- JP
Gibbs isn't the smartest person in the room even though buffoon thinks he is. He's a legend in his own mind and that is it. He really thinks that mocking Palin so how makes him seem "witty"? I would love to see Sarah write something else on her hand about Gibbs and Obama and purposely let the media get a good look at it. That will wipe that smug look off of his face quick.
ReplyDeleteThe Facebook Notes of today strongly parallels the political pamphlets that were so popular during the American Revolution. It's just that they travel so much faster.
ReplyDeleteI'm in full agreement; I personally find Sarah's hand-scribbling to be very real, relatable, and it's all about "get it down fast when you're on the run and brainstorming." People from CEOs on the way to crucial board meetings to moms writing grocery lists have done the very same while on the run, and no one in politics is more in a hurry and "going places" than Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I wish, given the setting and her history with the media, that she'd simply had some extra papers in her hand to glance at, and had not so very obviously tried to "peek" at her hand as if in secret. That did indeed make her look a bit silly and ~certainly~ as if she were lacking in confidence.
Sarah, they'd put a camera up your skirt if they could. Be careful.
Sarah has been in Obama's head from the day she was announced as VP. Remember, Obama has never faced any tough political competion in his entire life. He got a tough challenger disqualifed from the ballot in his State Senate race. He got a tough Republican off the ballot in his US Senate race by exposing his sexual behavior, and had to only beat a joke of a candidate in Alan Keyes. In his Presidential race, McCain was a weak candidate unwilling to attack Obama. The only tough candidate he has had to face so far is Sarah and obviously he is having problems with it.
ReplyDeleteRemember, in that leaked memo from Axelrod to Obama, assessing whether Obama was capable of running for President - Axelrod noted Obama cannot take a punch, is too thin skinned to criticism, and has a hard time engaging in a tough political fight.
Sarah was the first politician to ever lay a glove on Obama during the campaign, first with her devastating convention speech then when she used the line about "pallin around with terrorist" and then calling him a "socialist".
Sarah knows he can't take a punch, and she is the only person who has shown the guts so far to throw some hard punches at him. And its working.
I'm sure Obama watched her Tea Party speech and was infuriated at the way she attacked him. Therefore, I'm sure he told Gibbs and his other lieutenants to punch back as hard as they can at her. Hence, this well co-ordianted media and White House attack ridiculing the hand notes.
But as you point out Josh, this too will backfire on them for the reasons you note. Also, I think Sarah will keep writing things on her hand to take further punches at Obama and the media. Most PR people would tell Sarah to avoid further use of hand notes and let the story die. However, Sarah is a fighter, and she will see this as an opening to keep using hand notes to turn it around and attack and ridicule Obama and the media.
If Obama was smart he would have just ignored Palin and taken her punches, however, he can't deal with a strong opponent and he can't take a punch. Hence, the over reaction today by Gibbs.
The GOP could learn a lot by watching Sarah. I'm going to be very interested in what she does next week in Florida and Arkansas.
The whole thing is one humongous double standard though Ian. If the liberal's messiah would have done the exact same thing, nobody on the left wouldn't have given it a second thought. The Commander in Chief referred to the marines as CORPSmen not once but 3 times and the left said absolutely nothing. If Sarah would have said it ONE TIME during her 45 minute speech, we wouldn't have heard the end of their screeching.
ReplyDeleteIf you have to scribble something on your hand in order to get a message across to your people but you don't do it because you are afraid of not appearing clever, you are not a leader.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. However, and I am a big fan of Boyd's work, please recall that several folks kept telling us how McCain was inside Obama's OODA Loop. We know today that was false. And if you read Palin's book (a great look at the "facts" from her vantage point), I would suggest that you must conclude McCain was clueless. Palin is not.
ReplyDelete