The Democratic and Republican conventions are million-dollar political spectacles, pseudo-events designed specifically for television audiences. Waterman et al discusses the importance of pseudo-events in contemporary politics in Chapter 1, explaining how these events are all about creating images. The primary purpose of conventions since the late 1980s has been constructing images that will define the candidate and the party. These images are aimed at energizing the party faithful (primarily the delegates in the arena) as well as swaying undecided voters. But, as Hart argues in Ch. 1 of Seducing America, this reliance on image-making is problematic because it reduces politics to pictures, especially when television is the primary medium people use to get their political news.
Last week, the Democrats put on a grand political spectacle that culminated in Barack Obama’s acceptance speech in front of a crowd of 84-thousand at Invesco Field, complete with confetti and fireworks. Throughout the week, the Democrats aimed to present a cohesive and compelling image of their candidate to voters. The convention received top billing all week on all of the major broadcast and cable news networks, and it dominated coverage in newspapers and on talk radio. Slate.com offered a critical take on the spectacle of political TV in the following article:
http://www.slate.com/id/2198956/
This week, it is the Republicans’ turn to present an image of their candidate, John McCain, to the public. While there would have been notable differences in the style and substance in the two conventions, the similarities of the spectacles would have outweighed the differences. However, now the G.O.P. has been faced with a dilemma – competing for news headlines with a natural disaster, Hurricane Gustav. Already, the Republicans have been forced to make changes in their convention schedule. The following Associated Press article from late Sunday evening offers details: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080901/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_convention_rdp;_ylt=AiAEyFaoGF9V3zuP1dUdblNh24cA
Based on the information in the Waterman et al and Hart readings, how would you assess Hurricane Gustav’s impact on the G.O.P. convention as a pseudo-event? What happens when pseudo-events and "real life" events collide? And how do you think the media will react?
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Hurricane Gustav has had and will continue to have both a negative and positive impact on the G.O.P convention as a pseudo-event. Positively, President Bush was relieved from speaking at the convention and given the opportunity to improve his image as the President who was of little use during the last major hurricane that battered the south east. In addition, the G.O.P. now has the opportunity to turn the hurricane into a pseudo event as they call for donations and support of those in need.
While there are some positives to the real-life and pseudo occurrences of Hurricane Gustav, focusing on them sets up a double-edge sword for the G.O.P. As Waterman et al explains in Chapter 1, there is an impossible divide between what the public expects and what the President can deliver. While Hurricane Gustav provides President Bush with a chance to create new images for himself and his party, it also revives old images of the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina and President Bush's action plan for helping citizens in need. Fallout from that debacle can be found on MSNBC's website at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11627394/
The G.O.P.'s pseudo-event for Gustav highlights the inadequacies of the Bush presidency and puts McCain on the hot seat as people allowed to consider what he will actually be able to accomplish as president. When pseudo-events and real life
events collide, intelligent people adapt and flip the script so that they can share in the lime light of disaster/success. The media, they'll get back to the trump card that is Sarah Palin as soon as Gustav dissipates... well...just as long as the levees don't break, again.
Side note: Smart move = Donate campaigns funds to those in need (if allowed).
***Correction*** The G.O.P.'s pseudo-event for Gustav highlights the inadequacies of the Bush presidency and puts McCain on the hot seat as people are allowed to consider what he will actually be able to accomplish as president.
Hurricane Gustav will change the GOP Convention both positively and negatively- but I don’t believe these changes will significantly impact the presidential race. As stated in The Image is Everything Presidency , “America is a nation of images” (10). And the conventions are the olympics of image making. For McCain’s sake, it is important there is little attention on anything else during the RNC but McCain can use his air time to rally for the hurricane victims, and look selfless (and oh so presidential) while doing it. The response effort after Hurricane Katrina is one of the biggest bruises on the Bush Presidency. McCain can (and will) “use” this hurricane to separate himself from the incumbant president by showing how much more proactive he will be. All one has to do is look to the team of people working to turn Gustav from a distraction to a vote- for a little peace of mind. These conventions are extremely important, especially when the race is so close. I have a feeling McCain’s camp is working hard to prevent this event from raining on their parade. How dare a hurricane sweep through the country at the same time the G.O.P candidate is busy “image making” anyway.
The G.O.P. Convention has been positively and negatively impacted by the Hurricane Gustav. Gustav has forced millions of people out of Louisiana in order to prevent a similar tragedy that occurred just three years prior. Gustav being a "real-life" event takes precedent over the G.O.P. Convention as a pseudo-event. Gustav has placed America into a state of urgency, and the way both parties react and have reacted will have significant weight on the American population as to whom they will vote for come election time.
Gustav potentially serves as a way for the G.O.P to gain credentials. To date there have been less than a dozen deaths as a result of Gustav compared to the thousands as a result from Hurricane Katrina, three years prior. Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin need to utilize this event to its fullest extent and show the country, now, how hard they are willing to work towards their "Country First" motto. If effective, it can potentially turn undecided voters to their favor. Also, a disadvantage that can arise is the newly elevated public awareness of the disastrous political response to Hurricane Katrina. Americans are remembering the tragedy that occurred under President Bush and it is possible they will see room for change.
Gustav does take precedent over the G.O.P Convention and in newspapers everywhere it is making headline news which definitely hurts the G.O.P. However, this can make up for Senator McCain naming his running mate on the friday after the Democratic National Convention.
I think that Hurricane Gustav will have various effects on the Republican Convention. From what I have seen from news coverage thus far, I think that the most positive effect is that it gives the party an opportunity to show their “compassionate” side. Not just John McCain, but the Republican party in general have been given a chance to give a hand to those in need in the midst of this hurricane. President Bush is forgoing his speech to help hurricane victims instead. John McCain’s wife has been seen on television doing the same.
What it all comes down to is that these conventions are completely image driven. We as viewers judge everything from the set to what the candidates are wearing to the colors to the setting, however it continues to get even worse when these image driven pseudo events collide with real events such as the hurricane, or even the news that Governor Palin’s daughter is pregnant, which is a completely different story in it’s own. Anthony and Fournier’s article that we read titled “GOP Convention Script Goes Straight to Rewrite”, states that “Hurricane Gustav’s landfall Monday and its potential political fallout, paired with the announcement that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter was pregnant, changed the GOP production’s sets, characters and backdrop” (Anthony Fournier). This just goes to show how much worse a pseudo event can get when unexpected real events turn up to churn things up in the political world.
Hart discusses in chapter 1 of “Seducing America” what exactly happens “when people watch politics solely through a strategic lens.” He states that “a cultural cynicism results, and it saps the body politic by making the miracle of self-governance seem a sham” (Hart 9). The entire idea of both of the party conventions in a strategy move to sway or hold onto voters, and image is a huge part of the individual parties’ strategies. In closing, while the Hurricane didn’t turn out as deadly as everyone thought it would be, it definitely helped to illustrate to those who study the media, and to the general public just how based on image these “pseudo events” are. Add in the drama of the potential vice president of our country’s 17-year old daughter becoming knocked up, and you can see just how many changes were made to give the Republican Party as much of an image boost as possible.
Now that the hurricane has moved on and the GOP convention actually started, it's a little easier to see how Gustav really mattered. I think that it turned out alright for the GOP as far as the convention goes. It was smart for them to hold off beginning the convention until after we could see what damage the hurricane did, because, as many people said, it would have been inappropriate to have held such an event. This was a good example of what happens when pseudo events and real life events collide.
Fortunately for everyone, good preparations and precautions were taken and the states that were hit, especially Louisiana, remain much better off than after Katrina. Even with that, however, the media coverage was completely shifted from the GOP convention to the hurricane, and in my opinion, rightly so. It really puts into perspective what really matters (natural disasters) versus what is contrived (political conventions) The first Hart article says that "..the power of television cannot be denied...with it's always starting never stopping texts that chain together endlessly" (3) This is a great example of how TV dictates what is important. It didn't matter what news station, every one had special hurricane coverage. In this case, I think the media made the right choice, focusing more on the preparation for the hurricane and up to the minute coverage, rather than worrying about a political convention that, in the scheme of things, doesn't really matter all that much.
Joe Lieberman is speaking at the convention now and there's someone in the crowd dressed up as Abe Lincoln....yes.
In the eyes of the Republican Party and all the people involved with the Republican National Convention, it could be shallowly stated that Hurricane Gustav could not have come at a worse time. The Democratic National Convention was the hottest and most popular item in the news throughout its week-long coverage. The DNC was a Hollywood red carpet event, political priority and gossip fodder all wrapped in one. You literally couldn’t turn on the television when you woke up, or before you went to sleep without hearing mention of, or watching highlights of the convention, all culminating in Obama’s acceptance speech.
It may be too soon to tell, but with the impact of Gustav hitting such an unfortunate area as it is and being on many American’s minds, it is easy to predict the RNC will suffer. The level of the suffer in ratings, coverage, and “newsworthiness” was already an issue, as discussed in class – with having Bush and Cheney speak on a national holiday. Then, Bush did not perform his planned speech and instead, as stated in the article, went to aid Gustav victims.
As it is, national polls have revealed the extreme and record breaking level of dissatisfaction that Americans have toward Bush’s performance as President and the effect that it might have on the unity of the Republican Party. Where the RNC has to struggle with the terrible image Bush has created for them, the DNC has the advantage of the momentum and energy of all Americans desiring change. As stated in Chapter 1 of the handbook, there are controversial and debatable ways of maintaining images in presidential campaigns, as well as other political campaigns. Image management is huge, but is tricky and as implied in the text, can bring a highly noble political mission down to something as superficial as a bad magazine photoshoot, or a misinterpreted quite. If detailed attention is not paid to every aspect of a candidate’s life who knows what could go wrong. What drives me crazy is that in this position, high profile politicians continue to have high profile scandals, they seem to never learn their lesson! It seems more and more natural that sex scandals should be it’s own chapter in the Handbook text!
Also, as stated in the Yahoo article, the RNC also opened amid controversy, a disadvantage that was not present at the DNC. It might be safe to say the coverage that covered McCain’s choice of Palin ( I will keep my opinions on that issue to myself for the sake of this blog) might be the most coverage the RNC sees. But it is too soon to say. I have a feeling the RNC could have 10x the fireworks, 25 more A-list celebrities in attendance and an extra 1,000 lbs. of confetti to its agenda and it still wouldn’t get the coverage the DNC had, whether Gustav ever happened or not.
I think that Hurricane Gustav's impact on the G.O.P's just goes to show you that in today's media driven society when it boils down both conventions are just a pseudo events . During election years we place so much emphasis on the canidates campaigns that we lose sight at the real issues or in this case real life tragedies that don't wait for elections to be over. The media will probably cover both stories but when it comes to the GOP it will take the approach of "how are the republicans responding" and i think when it comes to seeing how the Hurricane will effect the pseudo event of the convention i wish that it would enlighten people into realizing that a huge production where millions of dollars are being spent just to watch a canidate accept their nominations isn't needed. all the money used to go into these "shows" could be placed into much better use somewhere else. here's an idea i hear people affected by Hurricane Gustav could use some help.
In this specific case, the collision of the pseudo event and real event can be used positively for both. As mentioned in the associated press article, John McCain said, 'This is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats.' Both Obama and McCain are now after a broader audience for votes in the upcoming election and will continue to stress unity. Hurricane Gustav can become a positive example of how McCain may handle such natural disasters in the future, and distance himself from the Bush's mistakes in handling the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina. McCain and his people have already strongly encourages people to send donations to the cause. This "real event" may cause some voters that were on the fence to choose McCain because it appears that the Republicans have been compassionate and respectful throughout the difficult situation. The only negative effect is that the media has focused more on covering the hurricane rather than the G.O.P convention. The controversy that was initially caused by McCain's vice presidential decision was pushed aside by Hurricane Gustav. I agree that Television and other forms of media dictate what audiences talk about. In some circumstances the stories are not always what citizens should be most concerned about, but in this situation I think most people would agree that the Hurricane takes priority over the G.O.P. Convention. In the end, I do not think that the Hurricane will strongly impact the results that John McCain and the Republican Party were hoping to receive out of the G.O.P. convention. It would be hard for them to follow the final performance and “celebrity” of the DNC regardless of how much they donated to the Hurricane cause.
The clashing of a real life event, Hurricane Gustav, and the pseudo-event which is the G.O.P. convention has the potential of either promoting or damaging the Republican Party’s standings in the eyes of the public. On a positive note, McCain, who is continually shown as an old man, hardened by his past war experiences, has the opportunity here to display his sympathetic side. Similarly, the McCain camp has been trying extremely hard to distance the candidate from the mistakes of the Bush presidency, so when Bush decided to devote his time to helping prevent another Katrina instead of appearing at the convention; it was nothing less than a blessing in disguise. The media also has the opportunity to contrast the Bush presidency and the hypothetical McCain presidency, in regard to damage and disaster control. The conventions are nothing less than a media circus, with both parties walking the figurative tight rope without a net below them. One false move and the event could be fatal.
As stated in chapter 1 of Seducing America, “television tells us, a bit at a time, that politics can be reduced to pictures”(4). Nowadays a person does not even have to watch the full convention, or any of the speeches for that matter, to have their opinions reinforced. McCain standing with his perfect wife, both dressed in the colors of our country in front of an American flag is enough to make some, I’m sure, say that he is the only man for the job. When people view political events on television, sometimes the messages get blurred and only the pictures remain clear. Will viewers remember what Joe Lieberman said tonight or only that he spoke in favor of McCain?
For right now, Gustav has not been as fatal an event as predicted. Only time will tell if it managed to kill the “good” that the G.O.P. convention could have done for McCain and Palin. The Republicans need to seize this opportunity to show that they are more concerned with the state of our country than their air time.
I agree with the other students that say Hurricane Gustav will work both positively and negatively. Perhaps the loss of time will force them to focus their message and goals more tightly. It affects them negatively because now they moved Bush and Cheney from from the Labor Day convention and now more people might watch them as consequence.
The Media attention has certainly shifted from Hurricane Gustav, as it should have. It states in Hart’s “Seducing America” Chapter 1 “As an emotional medium, television performs both personal and cultural work for its viewers” (8). With the devastating results that Hurricane Katrina still has on New Orleans, one could only assume that presence of Gustav in the Gulf Coast was a very personal matter to people directly affected as well as for a concerned country. As these two events coincide it may distract from some of the important issues that the convention will push but after all the country loves a good scandal and I’ve been reading a lot more about Palin’s pregnant daughter and how Palin has supported Alaska’s succession from the Union than the actual hurricane. So it may detract from actual issues but I guess not even a natural disaster can prevent some good gossip.
I believe now that we have seen Hurricane Gustav become less of a threat and the RNC has officially kicked off as much as it pains me to say it this potential natural disaster has done nothing but good for the RNC. After the thunderous momentum rallied at the DNC there was no way for the Republicans or their humble candidate to undercut that big a showing. But to the credit of John McCain this situation is in my opinion the best job his camp has done in working with adversity throughout this seemingly endless campaign cycle. Instead of trying to out do the Democrats the Republicans get a day to look benevolent and maybe in the grand scheme of image making make the Democrats look more like "celebrities" or "elitists." Also they minimize the damage George W. Bush's prescence would have done with independent voters. They cut him down to a video feed, maybe cut cheney out completely, and gain the appearance of modesty and selflessness in the process all in all Gustav helped McCain a lot more than he hurt him.
Fortunately, it seems that Hurricane Gustav is slowly going away, as New Orleans residents can return to their homes on Thursday. However, Gustav was in full force on Monday night, the first night of the RNC. The G.O.P. is going to try to recoop from the shortening of its convention on Monday night. But I think that even though they might have lost one night, I think they'll be able to pick back up. During our discussion in class last week, we even talked about how it was interesting they were starting the RNC on Labor Day, thinking that many people would be out and not watching it. So maybe not much for the G.O.P. was affected after all. However, I do think this slight change to the convention on its first night affected it both positively and negatively. Hart states in "Seducing America" that "Television's model of politics flatters the medium and it flatters viewers too. Television makes them feel informed about public affairs... [it] also gives certain Americans feelings on enterprise and influence..." (12). It would have been great to really compare the DNC and RNC side by side and take notice of all the differences and similarities between the two conventions equally, but with three other days left for a "regular convention," I think it can be done.
Gustav did alter that first night and the way the Republicans had to carry out their convention or pseudo-event, thus having a completely different “tone” than the DNC had last week on that Monday night. It is unfortunate that a natural disaster is happening in this country and affecting so many Americans. I’m sure the Republican party feels terrible for these people and used the convention to show how they want to handle and help those being affected by this hurricane. So in one sense, this unexpected real-life event is showing Americans how McCain and his party can help those in need. Obviously the G.O.P. wouldn't have put a blind eye to Gustav and have “gone on with the show” with no mention of the hurricane, but the fact that they really focused their attention on relief and aid to these people is a good image for McCain. This real life event deserved precedence. And it was good to see the G.O.P. and McCain give it that. McCain got another way to display an image on how he would tackle issues such as these. Unfortunately, these natural disasters cannot be controlled or stopped, so there must always be a back-up plan. And although McCain had one less night than Obama did, I really don't think it hurt him too bad. As far as how the media will react, I mean, I think the media is going to have a response or commentary to the RNC, it’s changes, and how McCain presents himself during the week; but I would like to think that the media will not lose sight of the fact that a natural disaster is affecting many, many Americans and how we also need to pay attention to those who are in need.
alright for the sake of the question i am going to talk as if i did not know the answers to these questions already, as the hurricane has hit and the convention is going on:
as almost everyone has said before the hurricane can have either effect on the convention. it all depends on the timing of the two events and what damage the hurricane will do. if the hurricane has devastating effects and the hurricane strikes during the convention it could defiantly have an negative effect based on viewership alone. viewers could be watching hurricane coverage over the GOP, especially those in soon to be affected areas. the hurricane can over shadow anything that happens at the convention if enough harm is done. so maybe people will not focus on the republicans message if they are focusing on the hurricane coverage. especially if news source cover the hurricane over the GOP. it sends a strong message to its viewers what is more important. as Hart says in chapter 1 of "seducing America":"television is thus not only a messenger but also, as Marshall McLuhan would say, a message" (4). being a PR major i have studied the power of the media, and unfortunately a lot of people don't watch the news to decide whats important, they watch to be told whats important. instead of doing research themselves they leave the work in the hands of people who could (and most likely are) biased. so what happens when hurricane coverage is aired more then the conventions coverage? people may miss the coverage and thus never give a second thought to the convention. this is the negative. on the positive side (for the convention), coverage could swing their way, and the reverse of above what happens. the convention is conceived to be more important than the hurricane, and peoples minds will be less focused on the destruction brought on by the hurricane and more so on the convention.
as for pseudo events vs real life events, history has shown us time and time again that the scale can tip either way.
a great example of this can be seen in the 1972 Munich Olympics. when Palestinian terrorists held 11 members of the Israeli team hostage a decision was made to go on with the Olympics. while i am not sure how long it took for the Olympics to be canceled, needless to say it eventually got canceled due being overshadowed by the hostage situation. now putting aside my feelings that stopping the Olympics was definitely the right thing to do and there is no down playing how important and serious the situation was for viewers to see and understand, it can be seen as an example of a real life event taking over a pseudo event. the Olympics became overshadowed by the hostage situation.
now to point to the other side of the scale we can look of examples of the situation throughout most of Africa. places like the Sudan and Congo are ridden with horrible acts of genocide every day. while we know about this, does it hit us as hard as maybe even the hurricane is affecting us? most likely it doesn't because we do not see it all the time. the news channels do not cover it. do you think the republican convention would go on if news channels started playing stories from war ridden African nations with live footage of brutality? yet the convention is on, and these real life events are happening.
the point is, effects of real life events on pseudo events depend on the coverage at the time and the impact of the event. what the media decides to show us will, unknowingly to us, affect our decisions and our views on the present and in this case on the convention.
only time will tell what the effects will be on the convention.
I think that Hurricane Gustav has had a negative effect on the Gop Convention as a pseudo event. The convention is all about the party faithful gathering and celebrating together with their new candidate for office. There are few formalities that technically need to take place. This event is all about the party showing off and gaining the attention not only of the party faithful but of everyone else in the country through media coverage. Gustav, however, cut the convention quite short. There was no pagentry out of fear that it would seem disrespectfull to those in the South who are suffering the effects of the hurricane. The Rnc was right to cut the convention short. However, this has damaged the Rnc as a pseudo event. It is not getting the coverage in the media that the Gop would wish since rightfully so the hurricane and its affects are receiving most coverage, morning, noon, and night. The media, and therefore its viewing and reading public, are not concentrating on the Gop and John McCain as much as they normally would have done. This real life event has taken precedence over the pseudo event staged by the Republicans. Also, Waterman states that the public should not have to think too much about a good pseudo event (18). However, with the tragedy of the hurricane juxtaposing against the pagentry and glamour of the Rnc, this invites the media to take a second look at the event and the parties surrounding it to analyze whether it is adapting to the change in events correctly. ABC News featured a story that examined the very lavish parties thrown by lobbyists for the members of the Republican party. These parties have not been toned down at all, causing some to protest against them while the Gop and the lobbyists continue to enjoy their drinks and fun. This is another negative effect of Gustav on the Rnc.
After the apparent success of last week's DNC I was rather unsure as to how the Republicans would respond by positioning their candidates and conveying particular messages for their campaign. What themes would be carried throughout this new convention? And yet, while we are only one true night into the RNC it seems unfortunate that Gustav may provide a perfect platform for the Republicans to run off. As many of have you have already mentioned, creating personal images and establishing intimacy with the American public (or so we have read) are essential during a presidential campaign. Gustav, coupled with the support of a torn Democratic party (Lieberman spoke last night) goes incredibly well with McCain's "country first" sentiments. In addition, as the country is brought together in the face of a potential disaster, the unity of party and country that the Democrats so desperately aimed to capture (in order to sustain Hilary's votes) is far more easily obtained by the GOP. As is the case, it would most certainly appear that Gustav is, or at least in the long run will be a positive thing for this convention. I think Noel hit the issue right on the head when he said "Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin need to utilize this event to its fullest extent and show the country, now, how hard they are willing to work towards their "Country First" motto. If effective, it can potentially turn undecided voters to their favor." Still, some drawbacks do exist (as some have already mentioned). For instance, depending on how the nation interprets what actions McCain and Palin take, the situation could very well tie McCain to Bush - a scary reality for this election's ticket and fuel for the Democrats who hammered home the two men's similarities. More than anything, the "50/50" nature of this situation and all situations covered by the mainstream media is a testament to the power and speed at which television can influence the American audience. Mary Stuckey within Waterman reminds us that "reactions to events are speeded up, and public perceptions of issues and political actors can and do change practically overnight" (11). Having said that, it'll be interesting to see how things have changed within the last 8-12 hours.
-steve
Though it is sad that most of the public seems to base part of their presidential opinions on image, it is also a reality. As Waterman states in Chapter 1, “image is everything”. Waterman goes on to say how to public has come to expect more and more from the presidential campaigns and people want to see things bigger and better.
A part of me hopes that in an ideal world, the hurricane would have no impact on the convention. Not to say that I necessarily side with the Republican convention, but both sides should probably get a fair shot. Most people remember Hurricane Katrina and sympathize with those going through a tragedy or hard time. I doubt that many people would be saying “I blame the state for not being able to see my convention or the convention in its fullest”. Part of me hopes that people would understand that bad weather and obstacles will occur and that is just how life goes. However, I also recognize that a lot lies in the mind of the subconscious.
If Hurricane Gustav were to disrupt the G.O.P. convention, I think that at the present moment, many people would understand if the convention was a little more somber than the Democratic convention had been because of the tragedies. People do have it in them to want to help other people so I don’t think that there would be a demand for a spectacular convention upfront. I think that the people speaking at the convention would handle themselves as they deemed appropriate due to the weather; as they did the first night when they didn’t exactly celebrate.
However, I do think that down the line, if people were looking back at the two conventions, they might feel a little more pull towards the Democratic side. Waterman speaks of the “expectation gap” and I think that many people might base their thoughts on if their expectations were met. If someone was looking at the two conventions and wondering if their expectations of glamour, cheer, positivity, and excitement were met with both conventions, they would probably have to say no.
All in all, I wouldn’t call the Hurricane’s affect on the G.O.P. convention a negative one, but more of a “potential puller”. People are not heartless; they feel for those affected by the hurricanes, but people also associate a lot in their head with spectacular imagery.
--Samantha C
Though it is sad that most of the public seems to base part of their presidential opinions on image, it is also a reality. As Waterman states in Chapter 1, “image is everything”. Waterman goes on to say how to public has come to expect more and more from the presidential campaigns and people want to see things bigger and better.
A part of me hopes that in an ideal world, the hurricane would have no impact on the convention. Not to say that I necessarily side with the Republican convention, but both sides should probably get a fair shot. Most people remember Hurricane Katrina and sympathize with those going through a tragedy or hard time. I doubt that many people would be saying “I blame the state for not being able to see my convention or the convention in its fullest”. Part of me hopes that people would understand that bad weather and obstacles will occur and that is just how life goes. However, I also recognize that a lot lies in the mind of the subconscious.
If Hurricane Gustav were to disrupt the G.O.P. convention, I think that at the present moment, many people would understand if the convention was a little more somber than the Democratic convention had been because of the tragedies. People do have it in them to want to help other people so I don’t think that there would be a demand for a spectacular convention upfront. I think that the people speaking at the convention would handle themselves as they deemed appropriate due to the weather; as they did the first night when they didn’t exactly celebrate.
However, I do think that down the line, if people were looking back at the two conventions, they might feel a little more pull towards the Democratic side. Waterman speaks of the “expectation gap” and I think that many people might base their thoughts on if their expectations were met. If someone was looking at the two conventions and wondering if their expectations of glamour, cheer, positivity, and excitement were met with both conventions, they would probably have to say no.
All in all, I wouldn’t call the Hurricane’s affect on the G.O.P. convention a negative one, but more of a “potential puller”. People are not heartless; they feel for those affected by the hurricanes, but people also associate a lot in their head with spectacular imagery.
--Samantha C
Hurricane Gustav has taken literally everyone by storm. The hurricane has hit the coast of Louisiana. But the frenzy has not stopped there, figuratively it has hit St. Paul Minneapolis where the Republican National Convention Is taking place this week. With the large focus on the 2008 elections and the media frenzy over last weeks Democratic Convention, McCain needs the focus to be on him. With the limited amount of time given to the candidates during this convention they really need to get their message out. Unfortunately this terrible event has happened and another devastating hurricane has hit Louisiana once again. However, brilliant campaign work and speech writing can turn this into a positive for McCain. As bad as that sounds McCain can show this country exactly what he would do in this sort of situation. The airtime he is given could be beneficial by reaching out to the victims affected by this hurricane. He can show the world that unlike the relief efforts during Katrina he will make a serious difference, thus separating him from the Bush administration. This separation could be a boost for his campaign since McCain has been constantly compared Bush. The millions of dollars that go into these campaigns never plan for such occurrences as this disaster but when a pseudo event and an actual real life event collides, I have a feeling with the right strategy all that are affected will prevail.
Hurricane Gustav has negatively impacted the G.O.P Convention. Where the Democratic National Convention seemed to be the top story on every news channel and website a week ago, the Republican National Convention has had to take a backseat (and rightly so), to Gustav. Though this opinion might be the minority one, you have to remember that not everyone is following election coverage closely or for a class. Where local, thirty minute news shows had the DNC first on tap, the RNC has been sandwiched between Gustav and the anti-war protests in St. Paul that the Epso article mentions. These local stations are what many families rely on for their news, so I think the forced lack of coverage and a sort of tease-hit-tease approach between Gustav and the protests has hurt the efficacy of the G.O.P’s pseudo-event. After all, the whole idea of a pseudo-event is to create news, to get the media’s attention, and this “real life” event has definitely taken away from the RNC.
As the Hart text says, “Television tells us, a bit at a time, that politics can be reduced to pictures” (4). So far, the images in my mind that have to do with the RNC only include water spilling over the top of New Orleans levees and arrested protesters in plastic handcuffs. The Democrats, on the other hand, bring to mind pictures of an elegant Michelle Obama and a powerful acceptance speech by Barack. If the most important criterion for a successful pseudo-event is how memorable it is, Hurricane Gustav has really drawn news coverage away from the Republican’s big show- as has Gov. Palin’s daughter.
Whenever there is a natural disaster that takes place in the U.S. or anywhere around the world, it is devastating. Hurricane Gustav occuring at the same time as the G.O.P. Convention comes at an interesting time. The negative impact of this is that many people have to leave their homes and evacuate the area. When something like this happens it takes precedent over the G.O.P. Convention. However, this is real life and natural disasters such as thins one do happen. At such a time, it gave President Bush the oppurtunity to redeem himself before his term ended because he was highly criticized for his actions (or lack there of) during Hurricane Katrina. Both McCain and Obama seem to be very active in getting help for the victims and people that had to evacuate during Hurricane Gustav. It is bad for the Rebuplican Party that this hurricane came at such a bad time but it happened and there is nothing that can be done about it except help those in need.
Hurricane Gustav, although not creating such a large media event as many people thought it would, it still taking away from the Repulican National Convention, cancelling President Bush's visit entirely and psuhing back much of the events that were planned for the day.
There is also a way that McCain can use this to hus advantage, by travelling to the affected areas, and being shown from there, helping people, it is already a better step then President Bush took with Katrina. It is a terrible event that took place, and thankfully it was not as bad as expected, but the Republicans are taking it and using it to their advantage to gain back some of the numbers which they lost after the DNC last week.
-Laura
I don’t feel that Gustav will affect the campaign in the long run. I think that whatever media coverage might have been lost by some of the changes made to the convention was gained back by McCain and others trying to show that they are “President” material in the face of a natural disaster. While it is unfortunate that this storm had to hit during the biggest event in four years for the Republican Party, I think this was a good chance for McCain to show the American people how he reacts to a certain situation and how he is different from Bush who didn’t handle the last natural disaster that faced this country very well. Luckily the storm wasn’t as bad as it could have been so the convention will take place and just be a few days shorter. I think McCain will take this situation and use what could have been negative for him and his party and turn it into a positive by displaying his ability to handle a tough situation.
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