Advice to the Big O* when he takes the stage with BillO prior the SuperB on Sunday.
I had some beers tonight with some portland dad types that waved off my fear that O would flail, since he answered BillO before - though I kind of remember milquetoast. The median critique was O needs to improve his appeal to low information voters, basically Dean's Nascar thing, I think.
Instead of disagreeing, I'd offer that scripting is a big part of the problem.
BillO will ask PresO conventional wisdom questions that PresO will lead into with his patented, "Um, ... Look, ... ya know, this is complicated ..."
Some Help
i. Please don't say "Look." This is condescending. The american public gets the problems up down and sideways; Don't use "ya know" or y'know" or any pause (um) variation - though I think you're using it either naturally or to show that you are pondering. this does not work with your audience; Likewise with the "it's complicated" routine. it's not complicated, not even the financial collapse.
ii. Cut to the chase and please keep it short and uncomplicated, more topics the better, in short blurbs. no need to hem and haw, restate legal assumptions, basis of argument, wince, ponder, gaze in the distance. This goes equally for fluff questions like superbowl winner MMA/UFC curveballs:
a. the Sarah Palin question: "She's a dynamic leader of a group of disaffected voters that think that government does a bad job and wastes $. I want these people to support my work and see that efficient and fair government works."
b. the Egypt question (reminder: don't say it's complicated): "This will be remembered as part of the arab world's 1776. I think the whole region will benefit, and I don't think the government that emerges will be radical or pose a threat to Israel. Egyptians are a very fine people, I encourage your viewers to learn about this." don't repeat the whole schtick about democracy and how they have to decide for themselves (valid points but repetitive, and nobody on fox cares)
curveball:
bminor: BillO: What about UFC fighter Volkmann taking it to you over his beef with his mortgage ? O: "He's a good ground and pound fighter. In the Leno video I bang his head against a concrete wall, which is not my style. I'd try Muay Thai, but Volkmann would be a challenge for me."
c. Social Security: a bummer to have to bring this up since Harry Reid set the table for you, but just to be thorough: "People pay in their whole lives, and retired people are paid out, never missed, or been in the red. We need to focus on jobs now, not right wing unicorn hunting. If we weren't in the worst economic condition since 1930, we could politic about this, but it's an example of the part of gov't that works, so I wonder why the right wants to take it down."
d. Health Care: "it's a clusterfuck, I'll admit that, or I should say, a goat rope. but we needed to lay the first brick in the path. If the the right wants to take pot shots at me over this Florida decision, then I can live with that. There is a logical concern about the mandate. We need an adult discussion about this."
e. Wall Street: "The collapse in 2008 is not even that complicated. Banks were handing out mortgages like candy and most of those subprimes went to wealthy speculators via no-doc loans. But the real damage was bank fraud on those bundles of loans. The bad guy was not poor or middle class home buyers, in fact they got screwed. The real problem is the banks got drunk, quoting George Bush. The U.S. taxpayers bailed this mess out as best we could. Pretty much more of a goat rope than HCR. Let's talk about something else or I'll think about conversations with TimmyG and start twitching"
f. I/P: "Are you f'n nuts. As a senator I used to blog on Daily Kos and that's a road you don't want to turn down."
g. Daily Kos: "What I learned from my days on that site, when I was coming up, was that those people are looking for honest and accountable government, apart from the staples of pie recipes and flame wars.
h. Avett Brothers: "I love all mixes and mash ups of american music. The Avetts are great. I'd throw Kid Rock out there. There's never been a musician besides Julie Andrews that had mass appeal in country, rock, and hip hop."
i. Superbowl: "Packers Suck." Hints: they know you're a Bears fan and will love it. Yes WI is a big 2012 state. If you can't help yourself and need a qualifier, say "...but cheese curds and Lienenkugel (Lienies we say on the South side) is a party."
My prediction is he will take the week off from Gibb's school of pretending like a question takes a phD to think about, but he needs some dkos help on scripting.
The poll and comments are available for your rewrites or additions.
*not Oscar Robertson