Carville's Secret

[babylonsister]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/10/01/carvilles_secret.html

October 01, 2011

Carville's Secret


From Politico, Bill Clinton explains the motive behind James Carville's public persona:

"He likes to act crazy because it helps him get speaking gigs. He figures if he goes around acting like he needs a rabies shot that more and more people will want to see him."


:spray:

[frazzled]

1. That's the secret of a lot of pundits, both D and R

Ann Coulter made it a tactic and others have followed suit. The more outrageous, the more gigs. Ignore them, I've always said, and they'll go away.

[ToonTheNews]

6. Well said. nt

[roguevalley]

7. unfortunately, the more idiotic you appear the less people listen

to what you say. credibility is lost.

[frazzled]

8. Au contraire

Serious people hardly ever get listened to in our media age. And it's not about getting all of the people to listen to you: it's about getting enough people to listen to you to form a marketable niche on the cables/Internet forums/blogs, etc.

You've gotta have a gimmick these days. It's how pundits get gigs, politicians raise flash money (say something crazy and get people to send in their dollars!), and charlatans get their fifteen minutes of fame.

[Major Nikon]

2. There's nothing inherently wrong with saying provocative things to get people's attention

...so long as what you're saying isn't duplicitous.

If Clinton's method was the only valid approach, there would be no need for headlines, or subject lines for that matter.

[progressoid]

3. We all know who his wife is.

So, yeah, he's crazy.

[vanlassie]

4. And he figures if he goes around acting like he's a Democrat

some people will believe him.

[hootinholler]

5. Not much of a secret n/t