Pursuit of Power

In this election we have two candidates who are pursing different policies and visions for our country, but we also have two individuals who are employing contrasting methods in their pursuit of power.

Every human being seeks to both understand and influence the world he lives in, whether through politics or another medium. Obama and McCain are no different. But if we associate, as writer George Sotos has, the pursuit of knowledge with the cognitive function of the mind and the pursuit of influence with the manipulative function, we can detect a valid and crucial distinction between the campaigns and the candidates running them.

Obama’s campaign has been guilty of subtle “untruths”, such as using quotes out of context, but in my opinion, which is all this entry is, Obama has conducted a campaign which reflects a dedicated pursuit of knowledge and a desire to inform the American people about the issues they face. He seems to me to be genuinely interested in educating the public so that we may be able to steer our government and our lives in a positive direction. He has aspirations to shape America and world events, as each President and Presidential hopeful must, but he is a cognitive thinker first and works within the bounds of logical connections between facts and events.

McCain, on the other hand, has engaged in a form of electoral politics dominated by the manipulative function. He has identified, time and time again, the desires of the electorate, and then has sought to shape the facts so that they correspond to those desires. Outcome first, facts second.

This technique was on display most recently this past week as he attempted to position himself as the Maverick crusader who saved the economy. He identified the desire of the American people for economic stability (in this case via a 700 billion dollar injection from the Treasury), and then suspended his campaign and launched a media blitz in an attempt to contort the facts regarding how the bill was passed. His objective was to make it seem as though he led Congress through the process of getting the bill passed, when in fact his position on the legislation was ambiguous throughout.

The technique backfired badly. In the House, his own party rejected the proposal and in the process, made a mockery of McCain surrogates who appeared on talk shows before the vote to proclaim another victory in vision and leadership for the 72 year old.

So, will this latest failure of Carl Rove style, “do anything to win” politics persuade McCain and future Republican nominees to focus on the facts first and the potential influence second? Not a chance! But at the very least it gives Obama more ammunition on the economy while basically wiping out McCain’s illusory, “pro-regulation” arsenal. Perceptive voters may also see in the episode an example of McCain’s erratic governing style and of Obama’s calm under pressure.

Also, not to be overlooked, we now know that McCain, in his old age, is completely incapable of multi-tasking.