In Fiji, if a criminal refused to confess, the chief sent for a scarf with which “to catch away the soul of the rogue.” At the sight or even at the mention of the scarf the culprit generally made a clean breast. For if he did not, the scarf would be waved over his head till his soul was caught in it, when it would be carefully folded up and nailed to the end of a chief’s canoe; and for want of his soul the criminal would pine and die.
-Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough
People sometimes confuse the words "strategy" and "tactics." A strategy is the plan, tactics advance that plan. This is why intercontinental ballistic missiles are referred to as "strategic weapons" and tanks are referred to as "tactical weapons" -- you launch the nukes and you're pretty much done. They're so powerful that pushing the button is the plan.In Barack Obama's race against John McCain, the strategy should be clear; establish that McCain is identical to George W, Bush, then run against the most unpopular president since Lincoln (face it, there was a civil war, half of the people hated Abe).
The tactics serving this strategy aren't all that hard to figure out. Talk about Iraq, Iraq, Iraq and play clips of McCain talking about Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. But sometimes, tactics aren't really tied to strategy. They're used only to help gain the upper hand or "tactical advantage." Examples of this would be olympic swimmers shaving their bodies to get that extra fraction of a second or the basketball player talking trash on the court to throw the opponent off their game.
I guess what I have in mind here is sort of the same as the basketball player. You get into the opponent's head and get them thinking about how much they hate you, not the game. The hope is that they begin trying things that are a little beyond them, with a higher degree of difficulty, just to prove that they're a better player than you are. They'll try to showboat and they'll fail. You want them to start playing a different game than basketball.
I bring this up because I believe I've found a way to get into John McCain's head...
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