Post PA Primary Debrief
It is not what you can do (Obama) or what you will do (Clinton),
it is what you have already done
that has made a positive, lasting and measurable difference
that earns you leverage.
I was trying to figure out my mixed feelings after the Pennsylvania primary and where my ambivalence towards Obama and Clinton comes from.
I think it derives from the dissonance that both candidates trigger in me. Dissonance occurs when what you see and hear doesn’t match what you feel or “What are you going to do FOR me?”/”What are you going to do TO me?”
I see and hear what both Obama and Clinton are saying, and I think the mixed feelings I have towards each are as follows.
Obama = Can do but hasn’t done yet
Clinton = Been there, done what?
Obama lacks the track record and experience. Clinton has the experience, but lacks the track record of being very effective.
So I guess it comes down to the Devil you don’t know (Obama) vs. the Devil you do (Clinton, and for that matter McCain) which makes for a devilish decision come election time.
More from Mark Goulston:


