What a weekend…and we’re not done yet!

Fresh off her speech to the Tea Party convention, Governor Sarah Palin talks with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, in her inaugural Sunday news program appearance.  As one might expect, she was her usual direct and good-natured self, and ended the interview with a spirited “you betcha!” at the request of the host.  It’s vintage Palin - have a look.

PS: I love that she says, flat out, that Obama “is not gonna win” if he keeps up his current Hell-or-high-water agenda push for the next three years.  From your lips, Governor…from your lips…

- tdc

*Video courtesy of The Right Scoop

an hour with sarah palin and glenn beck

I have no comment other than to say it was a joy to witness the first face-to-face meeting between Governor Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.  They have proven to be two of the most humble and sincere individuals in the public arena today - their conversation speaks for itself.

- tdc

politics and branding - part two: the making of obama

For part two of this series, below are two video segments describing the process to develop the Obama brand for the 2008 presidential campaign.  Then-candidate Obama had the foresight to hire a multi-disciplinary firm, VSA Partners, that typically works with corporate clients.  The collaboration resulted in a graphic identity and messaging campaign unlike any that had come before it in previous political contests.

While the process of exploration and design described in the videos is common for design firms, what made this project unique was its application to the very different arena of modern political campaigning.  In the end, the final product proved to be nearly flawless in its effectiveness in communicating with the electorate and eliciting the desired response.  Due to the success of the Obama campaign, I wouldn’t be surprised if this branding model is one that will be replicated by future candidates for national office.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this bit of designer “inside baseball.”  Needless to say, I certainly found the videos quite interesting.

- tdc

SEGMENT ONE:

SEGMENT TWO:

MORE INFO:

governor palin has a solid debut on fox news

I hadn’t seen the 60 Minutes thing.  I had been warned, you know, don’t watch because it’s a bunch of BS from Schmidt.

Governor Sarah Palin in her debut as an analyst on Fox News

“BS” indeed…but at least we got another good quote from the Governor out of it!  In her own words, she was “green”, but overall, she did a solid job in her debut as a Fox News pundit.  Her no-nonsense style was tempered with the grace and diplomacy we’ve come to expect - she will be a valuable presence on the network.

As she gets a few more of these appearances under her belt, look for Sarah Palin to hone her already-considerable communication skills, offering her perspective on the important matters of the day.  Thankfully, we can expect her to tackle meatier subjects than the under-achieving, smarmy Republican strategist, Steve Schmidt.

Follow the links below for the full video clips of Governor Palin’s interview with Bill O’Reilly on The Factor.

- tdc

John Stossel on the ability of the free market to create jobs (via Fox)

Dare I say it’s so simple that it just might work?! Someone call the White House!

- tdc

Your politics interrupted my reading.

What perturbs me more than having to hear what every Hollywood starlet thinks about the healthcare debate?  It’s having to read what a branding expert thinks about Glenn Beck.

Seriously.  May I have a brief word with you, Mr. Branding Expert?  If you’re going to write a blog entry about Fox News and how its brand has been effected by President Obama’s campaign to “delegitimize” them, could you do it without the snarky comments?

You started out just fine, using this scenario to illustrate the “80/20 Rule”:

Fox’s success shows the rewards for cable networks of building engagement among a dedicated base of diehards, following the vaunted “80-20 rule” that says that 80% of a channel’s ratings comes from 20% of its audience. Keeping the core audience tuned in for repetitive programming that confirms their beliefs turns out to be the recipe for success.

That is an interesting point.  One I was eager to read about.  But then, out of nowhere, you sucker-punched my Conservative mid-section with this [emphasis mine]:

Still, delegitimizing a news organization risks a backlash. Obama and his team have been compared with Spiro Agnew and other right-wing politicians who have declared war on the press over the years. And while the buffoonishness of Fox’s lightning-rod host Glenn Beck is evident to all who disagree with him, conservatives see emotive liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann as equally unhinged.

So, why the reference to “right-wing politicians”?  Why is it that “buffoonishness” is an appropriate adjective to describe Glenn Beck, but Keith Olbermann is simply “emotive”?

I must say, before I paid attention to politics and, by association, “The Media”, I probably would not have given a second thought to the passage above.  But, now that I am paying attention, I see the bias that exists…and it’s everywhere!

The thing is, when I go to a website to read about branding, I just want to learn about branding.  If you’re discussing politics to make a point, I don’t want to be able to infer from your language how you vote in the voting booth, or whether you prefer The Buffoon or The Emoter.  Words have meaning.  Language matters.

Just give it to me straight.

- tdc