What Politicians Need To Know About You
Also, a "Batgirl" mystery, Cox buys Axios, and a Gen X Twitter freakout
Dr. Peter A. Wish’s work resides at the intersection of politics and psychiatry. His book, “The Candidate’s 7 Deadly Sins: Using Emotional Optics To Turn Political Vices Into Virtues” is an eyeopening look at what candidates do wrong and what they can learn from neuroscience and psychiatry. Even if you’re not a candidate, you’ll find the book to be a fascinating examination of why candidates fail and what they can do to improve their chances. I sent Dr. Wish a list of questions for this week’s Remote Notes Q&A.
What inspired you to write this book?
I travelled for 2 1/2 years with the 2012 Romney presidential campaign and observed a lot of emotional malpractice committed by Romney and his handlers. He was a competent person but the "wrong" candidate. I knew I could help other candidates not make the same mistakes.
What role can neuroscience play in a candidate’s campaign strategy?
Neuroscience has shown us what happens to the brain when a candidate tells stories. The brain lights up and, if done correctly, syncs the candidate's brain and the voter's brain. Oxytocin and dopamine are released that make a bond between the two.
How does a candidate “turn a vice into a virtue?”
Deliberate practice is crucial along with emotional intelligence and awareness of what the candidates says and does.
You discuss the importance of making an emotional connection with voters, and you use Mitt Romney as an example. Explain that.
Mitt was born on third base. He could sympathize but couldn't empathize. He was labeled an "out-of-touch" plutocrat by the opposition and just kept reinforcing that image with his gaffes — "I'll bet you $10,000 (to Perry during a presidential debate), "My wife drives two Cadillacs,” "50% of people don't want to work and want welfare," "Illegal Immigrants should self-deport." Romney never connected to where people would say "Romney cares about someone like me."
What political event of the last six years has surprised you the most?
That voters disliked Trump so much that they (college-educated women in the suburbs) overlooked Biden's cognitive decline and elected him — regardless of how well the economy and his policies were doing — just to get rid of Trump's drama. They put policy aside and went for calm.
You have a paragraph to convince a candidate they need to heed your advice. What do you tell them?
Since Gallup has been surveying presidential races, the one common denominator that distinguishes those who win from those who lose is LIKABILITY. I do an audit to determine a candidate's strengths and weaknesses and then coach them on how to make a better emotional connection to increase their likeability. Storytelling is the key.
Thanks to Dr. Peter A. Wish for his time and his thoughtful answers. His book, again, is “The Candidate’s 7 Deadly Sins: Using Emotional Optics To Turn Political Vices Into Virtues.”
NEWS AND NOTES
COX BUYS AXIOS: Cox Enterprises purchased news company Axios, best known for its app that provides news in bite-sized pieces. Cox is the country’s top provider of broadband services, but it does own newspapers in Dayton and Atlanta so it’s no stranger to journalism. The cash deal puts a valuation of Axios at $525 million. The arrangement also keeps Axios’ leadership in place.
HBO MAX AND DISCOVERY PLUS TO MERGE: (I was tempted to give this one the headline “Max Plus Plus Equals Max+,” but thought the better of it.) Warner Bros. Discovery admits its HBO Max service isn’t performing as well as it hoped, so it’s changing courses. In last week’s earnings call, company CEO David Zaslav announced the company would be merging its HBO Max and Discovery Plus services into a new channel in 2023. According to the Washington Post:
Warner Bros. properties such as the Harry Potter series and the sitcom “Friends” would be available alongside Discovery shows like “Deadliest Catch” and “Worst Cooks in America.” Warner Bros. Discovery will also develop a 10-year plan for its DC Comics franchises that include Superman and Wonder Woman, similar to what Disney did with the Marvel Cinematic Universe …
The company hopes the new digital channel will increase its number of paying subscribers from the current combined 92 million to 150 million by 2025.
“BATGIRL” MOVIE SLAIN AT HBO: We also learned from Warner Bros. Discovery that they are cancelling “Batgirl,” a highly-anticipated entry into the DC comics universe. While the company insisted it was a matter of budget and not quality, The Hollywood Reporter writes the movie, still in post-production, did not score well with a test audience. Still, the film was slated for HBO Max and was to feature Leslie Grace, who would have been the first Latina to star in a DC film. Further adding to the excitement was the fact that Michael Keaton was reprising his role as “Batman” for the first time in 30 years.
IMAGE: Warner Bros. Discovery
“STRANGER THINGS” TOPS STREAMING RATINGS: Season four of the Netflix hit “Stranger Things” continues to lead the streaming ratings as it dominates the summer. For the week ending July 10th (the latest for which Nielsen has publicly released ratings), the series finished atop streaming shows. Amazon’s “The Terminal List” came in second, with “The Umbrella Academy” (Netflix”) in third, “The Boys” (Amazon) in fourth, and “Sing 2” (Netflix) in fifth.
LINKS AND LIKES
DON’T DO THAT TO US, TWITTER: We’re all a little skittish when we see a celebrity trending on Twitter, especially one that’s still relatively young. So Gen X had a minor freakout on Monday when our beloved Kristy McNichol was suddenly trending on Twitter.
It was for nothing more than a story about how it was the 40th anniversary of “The Pirate Movie,” a film she starred in that was quickly forgotten. But the story sparked attention, and that made it trend. And, of course, the “Why is Kristy McNichol trending” tweets overwhelmed the system and before you knew it, we had a kind of meta-trending situation. Anyway, here’s what she looks like today:
One Twitter user suggests that, when a living celebrity trends, Twitter denotes that person is “NOT DEAD.” Ghoulish, perhaps, but we agree with the sentiment…
WTF WFH?: A couple of notables have piped in on the “Work From Home” debate, so I thought I’d throw it open to the floor. Malcom Gladwell is quoted in the New York Post as saying:
It’s not in your best interest to work at home … I know it’s a hassle to come into the office, but if you’re just sitting in your pajamas in your bedroom, is that the work life you want to live?
Meantime, Wharton School professor and best-selling author Adam Grant posted:
Hey, leaders: If people aren’t coming to the office, look in the mirror. They’re not avoiding work. They’re avoiding toxic cultures, micromanagers, constant interruptions, and countless hours commuting.
I believe the ideal job is a combination of office time and working from home. In many jobs, not everything needs to be done in an office setting. Still, being among colleagues can spark creativity and new ideas. The best ideas are those that, when asked where they came from, nobody is really sure. They came from great teamwork, something that’s very difficult over Zoom. What do you think? Email me, and let me know.
PODCAST EQUIPMENT: One for the geeks here. I get asked what equipment I use for podcast production, and I’m happy to share. The main board is the highly-reviewed RØDE RØDEcaster Pro, which was designed from the ground up for podcast recording and live streaming. It’s easy to learn and packs a ton of features into a compact form factor. In addition to supporting four mic inputs, you can connect phone guests via Bluetooth. The software for podcast output is simple to use. In addition, I use the RØDE PodMic, which is specially engineered for voice. A basic iMac is all I need to pilot the system.
IMAGE: RØDE Website
HOUSEKEEPING:
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IN MEMORY:
This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Alan Jacobs, who nurtured my love of all things media.
Me (Left) and Alan.
Copyright 2022, Slap Together Productions
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