I left Brainstorm 2006 with my interest in politics reinvigorated. The personal highlight was spending time with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, just after the Dutch government fell in her wake. The rest you could have seen on CNN, as the media presence left comments controlled. See the Brainstorm blog for notes on John McCain's session. Here are my notes from a panel, contributed to the private Socialtext wiki, on the hijacking of the American political process.
Participants:
- David Gergen, Kennedy School of Government
- Joe Klein, Time
- Mark McKinnon, Public Strategies
- Mark Penn, Burson-Marsteller
- Moderator: Nina Easton, FORTUNE
Joe Klein
3 most frequenly asked questions about Politics Lost
1. Isn't it the politicians fault? yes. Many don't listen to advisors, or listen to the wrong thing (Gore not talking environment, Kerry not on torture)
2. What's been lost? Kennedy would now know too much. Inputs of polls and focus groups.
1. politician's faith in the public because of the information they have about us
2. the politician's faith in themselves. it takes a strong politician can look at a set of numbers and go a different way
3. Isn't it the media's fault. No. We have lost the habits of citizenship.
We know that politicians don't mean anything when they say, like Kerry, "we don't need a policy of family values, but valuing families," it means nothing. Judge a candidate's credibility by what you can measure, but in 2008 my standard is if you don't ask anything of me, if you don't challenge me, I'm not giving you anything, especially my vote. (emphasis mine)
Mark McKinnon
Consultants are a lot like journalists, we got into this because we loved it. You can lose and fail upwards in this business. Cartoon where a consultant is sitting in front of a candidate who asks, "remind me of my core convictions." We are trying to do things of some level of authenticity, but sometimes, with Perot and Dean, it's not the best thing. In 2000 Bush came to him with issues like Social Security they were going to campaign despite the numbers. Lists a few cases during the campaign where there were moments of unpolled authenticity.
Mark Penn
Used to do foreign presidential elections, like Colombia, where they won with margin. The first poll was 2-1 a tougher stance against the drug lords in order to make it a more modern country. Tried to inform the campaign leadership, but they said, you are right, but we would all be killed. The power of polls, and their limits. The power was that we could inform, the limit was saying it wasn't a good idea right now (they did it a year later). Polls give a clearer window of what leaders want to know. But leaders need to learn how to use polls to assist their thinking and go beyond a small group of advisors and system of political censorship.
David Gergen
I believe the leadership class of the country is failing us in politics. Not addressing the significant issues or leaving a heritage. Talked about Global Warming today, the first generation to leave others with problems they can't solve. Lot of reasons for this. We essentially face a generational problem. They country was governed by the WWI and II generations well for 60 years, people with common values, a sense of the role in the world we play, and a sense of common sacrifice. JFK to Bush wore a military uniform when they were young, a formative experience. Thought of themselves of Americans first, not partisans. "Tip, if I had a ticket to heaven, and you didn't have one too, then I would give my ticket back and go to hell with you." A new generation has come to town over the last 13 years, and if you look at them as a collective, born between 1940-1950s, and formative years in the 60s and 70s, and their best politics was when they were young. Either clung to old values or new ones, vietnam as a scar for who went and who didn't. Being American is secondary to their psyche.
Joe Klein
Combat veterans who were in the US senate would say that politics are the opposite of war. Polls are the crack of politics and media. Having to govern as a permanent campaign. Message of the day instead of looking over the next hill and telling people what they need. From a focus group, what would you tell the president on his first day, someone said, my opinion doesn't matter, which he explained was a request for leadership.
Arriana Huffington
Hillary picked flag burning, a red-state issue last week despite it not being a core conviction.
Mark Penn
Hillary has never been for flag burning. Journalists decide who is authentic or not, regardless of if it is.
Member of the Japanese Congress
Politicians level is equal to the people of a country. Not many exceptions to this rule.
Joe
What you are saying is that people get the governance they deserve. My book has made authenticity an epithet. Character is the intersection of beliefs and humanity. Rather than authenticity, I am interested in courage.
David Gergen
Leadership appeals to the better angels of our nature.
Gary Flake
We've mortgaged the future, and now sacrifice is required, but politics is how you keep the job instead of do the job -- what do we do to change the dynamic?
Mark McKinnon
The flip side of your point is that every time you raise the issue of social security, people go nuts.
Joe
Voters are not just a marketplace, we are a polity.
