Tao of FAU

The new talking point on Paladino

"I don't know him"

So the G.O.P. establishment in New York continues to freak out about the Republican candidate for Governor, even though he has gotten within striking distance of Andrew Cuomo in one poll. Of course what the media wants to know is who will be endorsing Mr, Paladino so that question is being asked of major Republican figures in the state and they have a neat talking point.

Congressional Candidate Chris Gibson: "I don’t know him. I’ll tell you: I look forward to having conversations and getting to know him." (link)

Rudy Giuliani (at an event where he endorsed Gibson): “I haven’t thought a lot about him. He’s new to me, I didn’t know him before, and he never reached out to talk to me or ask me any questions, so I know nothing about him,” (link)

OK, I am not a communications expert, but I know a talking point when I see one.

Its smart tactic. By saying "I don't know him" they are essentially saying "he's new and an outsider, not one of us" while implying that they don't know where Paladino stands. Both have been quick to recognize the energy and frustration that Paladino has tapped into, but they don't want to jump on board because they don't know the man.

The thing is, how are we suppose to take these guys seriously? They are Republicans who theoretically just voted in the Republican Primary in which Paladino was a candidate. Now, you may not know him personally, but Gibson and Giuliani surely know what he stands for and if they are hedging on endorsing him now that says two things:

1) They think he hurts the ticket not helps

2) Like every reasonable Republican in NY they are waiting to see what Rick Lazio will do next.

Man its going to be an interesting 6 weeks.

What happened to reason?

Four years ago, when the Democrats won the majority in the Congressional election I observed that the "moderate" Northeastern wing of the GOP had died. With only a handful of Republicans left in the Northeast after that election, the party the I had know, belonged to, and loved was gone. It had been taken over by a hyper-Christian wing emanating from the South and West.

Tonight, with the defeats of "moderate Republicans" like Mike Castle in Delaware and Rick Lazio in New York (and possibly Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire) I think my point has been made, and then some. Even in congressional races, like NY-23 and my district, NY-20, the Republican candidates have to go so far to the right that they risk turning off the moderate and independent voters in what would normally be safe seats for the GOP (albeit for "moderate" Republicans).

Don't get me wrong, the Democrats are in bad shape this Fall. There is a really good chance that control of the House with switch and the Senate is (or was, before tonight) within the GOPs reach as well. Add to that the likelihood that come January there will be 30 GOP governors and you have a Republican party that is on the accent. But is it a sustainable one?

American political parties cannot win without the middle. Putting aside all the rhetoric about Obama being a socialist or Bush being a right wing extremest, both ran on mostly moderate platforms and won in the middle. By contrast, many of the current GOP candidates are at best extreme and at worst, totally nuts. And it will cost them elections this year and for years to come if they keep moving in this direction. 

Just take issues like immigration, same sex marriage and the environment. These topics will continue to dominate the political landscape for one or two more generations and the GOP holds hard line opposition to reform on all of them. They do so while ignoring (or rejecting) demographic and cultural shifts that are obvious to the rest of us, all to keep the hard line wing of their party motivated to vote in primary elections. It feels like a zero sum game to me.

We seem to have lost sight of reason in the last few years. We have lost sight of logic. Our political dialog and culture are being influenced by fringe elements and radical, inflammatory characters (see Palin, Sarah) who wonder out loud where their country has gone. I agree with them on that point: I'd like to know where my country as gone as well. The difference is I see them as the problem, not the solution.

Mad Men quote(s) of the week(s) -- "That's what the money is for!"

Once again advertising has kept me from blogging about a show about advertising.

Over the last few weeks there's been a story line building between Peggy and Don about ideas and giving credit where credit is due. SCDP had a blockbuster ad for floor cleaner Glow-Coat. It was a break thorough spot that got the agency a lot of attention and a nomination for a CLIO Award (think of the Golden Globes, but for ads).

Prior to the ceremony, Peggy is relishing this nomination as a sign that things are going well. Don is not resting on his laurels:

Peggy: Well, you know, I look at Glow-Coat and see how far everything has come...you know, the work.

Don: Glow-Coat. You finish something, you find out everyone loves it right around the time it feels like someone else did it.

That comment cuts at Peggy, because as we learn later in the episode, from her point of view someone else did do it. Turns out the roots of the Glow-Coat spot came from her pen and she feels like Don is taking all of the credit. Of course the spot wins at the CLIOs and Don is celebrated as the hero of the agency, all of which makes Peggy feel even more under appreciated.

Cut to the next episode where Peggy is tasked with building a creative execution based on an idea from a more junior member of her team, but she just can't seem to hit on a spot that Don will buy. Don keeps her late on her birthday, forcing her to cancel dinner plan with her boyfriend, which leads to a fight and a break-up.

Dejected, Peggy goes back into Don's office to pick a fight with him. She confronts him on the fact that the idea for the Glow-Coat spot was her's and yet he get's all the credit:

Don: It was a kernel.

Peggy: Which you changed just enough so that it was yours.

Don: I changed it into a commercial...that's the way it works, there are no credits on commercials.

Peggy: So you got the CLIO.

Don: It's your job! I give you money, you give me ideas.

Peggy: And you never say thank you.

Don: [Yelling] That's what the money is for!!! You're young, you will get your recognition. And honestly it is absolutely ridiculous to be two years into your career and counting your ideas. Everything to you is an opportunity. And you should be thanking me every morning when you wake up, along with Jesus, for giving you another day. 

Earlier in the conversation Don reminds her that every idea belongs to the agency, not one person. Indeed.

I love this quote and Emilia and I have been dishing it out every other day since this aired. I have been accused of not being polite at work and making demands in a curt manner. Once a direct report actually asked me to say please when I asked her to do something. If I had that discussion over again today I would simply retort, "I don't have to say please, that's what the money is for."

In other words: do your job the best you can do and then wake up tomorrow and do it better than you did it yesterday. And if you don't like it, or you don't like the hours, or you don't like the fact that others (including the clients) get all the glory, tough. That's the job and that's what the money is for.

Tao of FAU has moved

Vox is closing (no real shock there) so I have moved the Tao of FAU to Typepad. Here is the new URL:

http://taooffau.typepad.com/blog/

And here is the RSS feed:

http://taooffau.typepad.com/blog/atom.xml

I'm actually kind of glad to be up on one of the larger platforms. I went with Vox when it was new and might have taken off, but it did not.

All of the content is here, but alas my tags seem to have been lots in the transfer. Oh well, it will just be harder for me to find old posts now.