EMOTIONS - The missing piece

[sandersadu]

There's a simple reason Kerry's not way out ahead. All agree that he has the best policies, best idea, best background and truly would make a great President.

What's missing is the emotion. So far, his campaign has really not even scratched the surface of some of the issues that would cause people to FEEL something for Kerry and not just be ABB. All good leaders have his emotional connection. Kennedy. Reagan, Clinton, Bush (Jr.). For example:

(1) LIES: We should be angry, angry that Bush has lied to us, not misled us, but straight out lied to us about issues big and small, most notably the War. Kerry has not tapped into our righteous anger about being lied to.

(2) FEAR: Bush has been peddling fear since 9/11. Hope is more powerful than fear. We've literally been under a dark cloud since 12/12/00. I know "Hope is on the way", but it's got to be more than a campaign slogan. K/E, but especially Kerry have to literally exude hopefulness and propose policies that will renew our hope as Americans in our country.

There are lots of other examples, but you get the idea. Until Kerry establishes an emotional connection about what is plain for people to see, all of the polls, focus groups, ads and debates wont' mean a thing. Reagan's funeral should have taught us something: People vote for someone they have an emotional attachment to. We'll see if Kerry can dig down and establish that connection - - if not pray for the best but prepare for the worst.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. You got it. The Debates are about emotionally connecting, not points.

The Republicans very carefully coach their candidates on vocabulary to control the emotional responses. That is why they talk about "death tax" and all kinds of fear-mongering.