I've been told that Hemingway would write 1,000 words in the morning, spend the afternoon trying to say the same thing in 500, and, having done that, would say it again in 250. Then he was satisfied.
Hemingway could never be a bona fide Democratic leader. Here's Rahm Emanuel on national cable news (CNN and he's being asked, my God! actually being asked to state the Democratic position. Can you imagine, a chance to do something other than answer a Republican smear, and here's what Rahm has to say:
Well, first of all, we have six basic points, Wolf. We're talking about putting our fiscal house in order with a budget summit and balancing the budget, making a college education as universal in the 21st century as a high school was in the 20th century, creating a hybrid-based economy to cut Americans' dependence on foreign oil in 10 years, that if you work, you have health care. That would be the goal we set for this country in 10 years to get that done. Five, that we create an institute of science and engineering to marvel what the NIH has done in health care. And lastly, when the 9/11 commission comes out with their next report, under a Democratic congress, you would not get an F for a failing grade, you would get an A for having put in place the policies to protect America. And we won't see what happened down in Katrina again here in our homeland security.
There's a bumper sticker, well, actually, a wrapped-around-the-car-six-times sticker sure to fill people with the sense of vitality and vision that drives the awesome Democratic machine. Into the ground.
It was such a great start: 6 Basic Points. Okay, 4 is better, and 3 is best. And these aren't even the points I'd be pushing. But basic points at least. He said so. Then he went on to state them in 151 words and 225 syllables. Has not one of their high-paid expert advisors (who I secretly suspect are paid even more by Bush) drilled them in concise talk?
Here, me an amateur, off the top of my head, for free:
Wolfe, we've got 6 points (ticking them off on his fingers)
- You can't just go on printing money forever, no matter what the Republicans tell you.
- A strong economy and a strong defense depend on a college-educated public.
- We can start conserving and using alternative fuels tomorrow if we wanted to.
- Every religion and every ethic says, help the sick. We're going to do that with universal healthcare.
- Today, foreign scientists get first crack at jobs In the US. We'll re-vitalize our own national research and development, and we'll hire Americans to do it.
- This President clearly puts the well-being of his cronies above the well-being of our citizens and our troops. Katrina proves it.
Okay, I've cut it down to 113 words working less than 5 minutes on it. 25% more concise. Plus, all the advantages of the actual points, plus several jabs at, and truisms about, the Administration's gross incompetence. What is the cure, then for Congressese? Really wanting to get your message across.
(By the way the link above has much more than Rahm. It's also got Pelosi and Time Magazines Michael Ware saying:
"...Well, Anderson, this is all clearly from the president, political gymnastics. Like a magician, he's attempting to create something out of nothing. It's very clear that U.S. policy, on the ground in Iraq, is not winning, it's not creating a victory. The question is, can America get out of there with anything close to a semblance of success, of any kind? I mean, let's look at Iraq. He refers to an inclusive government. That simply does not exist and is back and owned now by a member of the axis of evil, Iran. Listening to commanders on the ground who have described to me the "big lie," that we can't really tell the truth of what's going on, we can't ask for the resources that we need for fear of betraying the true situation, here in Iraq. And this is a policy. Born of success that is seen U.S. administrations now turning to the insurgents themselves, bringing back the Ba'ath party...."
So that's that part.
This poll, like most polls, is pointless, and only slightly related to the topic.