[cross posted from Frameshop -JF]
Americans are hearing quite a bit these days about Democrats seeing the 'same' intelligence as Republicans, making the 'same' choice to topple Saddam Hussein, for believing that there were weapons of mass destruction aimed at America the 'same' as the Republicans believed it, and generally being to blame for the 'same' reasons as the White House for the war without clear purpose or end in Iraq.
This use of the 'same' frame has people a bit disoriented, so it is worth looking at it to understand how it works and how to get past it...
Sometimes, it is helpful to think about political debate like a boxing match. Right now, President Bush is being pummeled by blow after blow from the American people. We are tired of the death and destruction in Iraq, of the torture and dungeons being pushed by our President, and of the reckless looting of our economy by a Republican congress. And so Americans are fighting back led by a chorus of articulate Democratic critics.
Finding himself on the ropes, President Bush is doing what any prize fighter in trouble does: he is reaching out and wrapping his arms around his opponent in the ring, trying to 'hug' the Democrats and stay real close so that he can avoid further political blows.
The 'same' frame is a desperate attempt by President Bush and the Republican Party to 'clench' the Democrats in order to stop the barrage of body blows that are threatening a political TKO for the GOP.
What would a TKO in our current political boxing match look like?
We just saw a glimpse of it last week: two defeats for the Republicans in gubernatorial elections (Virginia, New Jersey), and humiliating defeats for all ballot measures from the Republican governor of California.
A TKO in 2008 will look like more of the same, but on a grander scale. Any Republican associated with the President will lose their election bid. Any Democrat who runs a campaign that critiques the President will win. Control of the House and Senate would swing back to the Democrats. A Democrat would be elected to the White House. TKO.
Obviously, it is not going to be quiet that simple, but that is the general scenario.
The President may look unbruised and upbeat when we see him on TV attacking American citizens by name for criticizing the war, but in the present round of the the political boxing match, he is barely clinging onto the ropes, both eyes swollen over from jab after jab to the head from political opponents. His political mouth piece has just been knocked to the floor by a slow, but powerful hook to the jaw, and the crowd is growing impatient.
And so, with all his might, with all his remaining energy--bloodied, sweat covered and afraid that this match could mean the end of his boxing career as well as the careers of everyone who ever helped him--the President has reached out and clenched the Democrats in the middle of the ring by saying "They are the 'same' as me!" It's a foul by the rules of political boxing, but there is not much that Democrats, like boxers, can do. The hug or clench turns a one-sided fight into a stalemate.
That is how the 'same' frame is being used by President Bush, and while it is not harming the Democrats terribly--the American people are not suddenly thinking that the President is winning the boxing match again--it is annoying, and it is getting in the way of the real work of winning this round and this match.
Democrats want to win this round for the American people, because by knocking out the Republican Party, the Democrats will be able to restore some sanity to government, wind down the failed Bush mission in Iraq, apply the full diplomatic power of the United States to helping--not occupying--Iraq and the greater Middle East, restoring fiscal responsibility to our government, and generally standing with the nation for a brighter future.
What should the Democrats do?
They should pull themselves quickly from the President's clench with a 1-2-3 combination on the subject of Iraq:
Together we can (1) clarify the mission (jab!), (2) unify our allies (jab!), and (3) bring our soldiers home (left hook!)
Jab! Jab! Hook! Clarify, unify, bring 'em home.
Let's not get caught in the 'same' frame.
Push the President back, and 1-2-3...jab-jab-hook.
Our soldiers and the American people deserve to win this round.
© 2005 Jeffrey Feldman