The Writer's Poke

At last night's Obama /Clinton debate, Clinton closed strong on a positive note. Not surprisingly, that's what the pundits focused on. "Clinton showed her true side at the end." "Clinton displayed her humanness." "That was the real Hillary." Interesting. Does that mean that for the other 95% of the debate, Hillary was "false," "inhuman," and "fake"? Meanwhile, Barack spent most of the debate purposefully staying on the high road. He remained positive for at least 95% of the debate. So why give Hillary credit for 5% when Barack was doing exactly the same thing for 95%?

Question: How do you attack a good campaigner and a good speaker? Answer: If you're Hillary Clinton and John McCain, and you want to attack Barack Obama, try this: 1. Barack is a good campaigner, but all he has is a message. 2. Barack is a good speaker, but all he has is his speeches. Frankly, I continue to be amazed, even though I know I shouldn't be. What is a political campaign about? It's about selling your message to voters, and traditionally, that's done through speaking. Barack has a powerful message, and he's clearly the best speaker in the campaign. He's careful to say that he cannot do it alone, that he needs everyone to continue to pitch in after the campaign is over. Do you ever hear Clinton say that? No, Clinton claims to be the "solution" to every problem. Don't trust people that claim to have all of the answers. And McCain? If Barack is the "can do candidate of hope," then McCain is setting himself up as the "can't...

I eat alone, and for the past few months, I've done so with Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone. Why shouldn't you eat alone? Because if you're not networking 24/7, then you're just falling behind. For Keith, networking is a lifestyle, and he admits that it's not for everyone. He tries to put the best spin on "networking as lifestyle" that he can, but in the end, he simply reminds me of the character from the Bob & Tom radio show, Ken Tarmac. Yes, the book is worth reading, and I'm sure I'll be able to apply some of his advice. Networking will never be my lifestyle, though... http://nevereatalone.typepad.com/blog