Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Each candidate had the good fortune to appear before the voters at a time of enormous dissatisfaction.  Voters were seeking change and were happy to look in a direction deemed to vary from the traditional.  Reagan and Scott campaigned with that central thought in mind.

No sooner was Scott elected than certain members of the media were speculating on whether he would become a Republican presidential aspirant.  Thoughts of Reagan had to be paramount in the minds of many given the comparison earlier mentioned.

In the informative and succinctly biting post-election comments delivered by Keith Olbermann on MSNBC a troubling moment was mentioned from Brown's campaign.  Olbermann recounted a crude and zealous Brown supporter shouting out what should be done to a certain part of the anatomy of Democratic opponent Martha Coakley.

Here Brown could have sounded statesmanlike and delivered the correct note with something like:

"A lot of angry comments are made during the course of political campaigns.  When personal commentaries are made they are tragic, highly unfortunate, and divert us from discussing the real issues on which voters should choose candidates.  We must divorce ourselves from angry personal comments and aspire to higher ideals as citizens of a nation fortunate enough to have the right to vote."

According to Olbermann, and he reinforced his point by saying that none of his negative comments on Brown have been refuted, the candidate responded to the crude and vicious comment by the zealous supporter by saying, "We could do that."

Consider also Brown's first moment on the national stage when he stood with his family in front of supporters acknowledging his victory.  He teased his attractive daughters by citing their availability.  

When they protested he amended his comment by stating that he only meant it to apply to his older daughter, a former American Idol contestant and college varsity basketball player.

The daughter surged forward in embarrassment and asked her father to stop, while his wife was doing the same.  Yes, he was surely kidding, but was this an appropriate statement to make at an important moment where so much of America was seeing Scott Brown for the first time?  

One popular right wing television pundit stepped forward immediately to sharply rebuke Brown.  Glenn Beck conjured up the prospect that such commentary could present another Congressman Gary Condit moment with a resulting "dead intern."

The staggering comment by Beck is indicative of what happens when an irresponsible statement is made.  It also provides food for thought of an irresponsible sexual tease made on national television with a number of sick individuals hearing it.

Brown also commented that he had not slept at all the evening of the most momentous day of his life.  In that he knew that such an important appearance was beckoning, even allowing for the excitement of the evening and the necessity of staying up late, could he have not obtained at least a few hours of sleep?  

Could the kind of lightheaded condition arising from sleep absence have accounted for his tasteless comments about his daughters?

When Ronald Reagan began his political career he had the shrewd political consulting team of Spencer and Roberts directing his every move.  He learned to take direction as an actor and understood the importance of image since it was an inextricable element of his former profession.

Reagan's post-election statements focused on the importance of the moment and conveying an impression of stability and leadership, an effort to build confidence with the electorate.

Scott Brown currently conveys an image not of discipline, but an off the wall giddiness.  This is what prompts me to believe that Brown is an instant media success who will not stand the test of time, a flavor of the moment.