The Charisma Notes: (Second in a soon to be abandoned series)

Democracies cannot make effective propaganda. True propaganda
requires total control of all sources of information. Therefore according to
Jacques Ellul's famous dictum when a democracy does make effective propaganda,
it ceases to be a democracy.
Now the core of my argument is, that "we" (broadly defined as them whut
didn't vote for Bush) are still living in a democratic state no matter
how tattered the democratic spirit may be lately.
So if you are a preening, greedy, arrogant class warrior and
notorious nabob like G.W. Bush, how do you make yourself popular and beloved?
True propaganda is impossible in America ("For the moment" smirks Dr. Rove)
so the only option left is that ephemeral quality called charisma.
Charisma is what substitutes for raw propaganda in a functional
democracy.
Charisma is a fleeting ineffable quality for the most part...some
personalities have it others have to smear it all over themselves like
ointment. It's powerful stuff though short lived especially in today's multi-mediaverse.
It is also no prophylactic against the peculiar vagaries of
history....everyone should remember that.

As I've said before, charisma is thought to be a commodity at least in
America circa 2003. Others will argue that charisma is a particular
quality that cannot be measured or replicated.
But let's face it, Karl Rove and a host of political handlers are
preparing election 2004 on the notion that charisma can be manufactured to
precise specifications.
Like most commodities though, charisma is subject to the whims of
supply and demand, mostly though it's price goes up over time like rents or
mortgages. This is entirely understandable, the price of television time alone
spikes sharply in an election year as cash hungry networks gouge parties and
candidates for all the market will bear.
Charisma costs money.
Which brings us to an interesting and heretofore little commented upon
quote in Time Magazine from a few weeks back: A "Senior Administration
Official" was openly chortling that the GOP would have "More money than God" in
campaign 2004.
Overlooking the nauseating pagan idolatry inherent in that quote...we
can guess that the President and his handlers are reasonably certain to
have MORE than a quarter of a billion dollars on hand for the campaign.
And that is in "hard money" never mind the soft money donations to the
RNC and it's shadowy ideological puppets. Some of you may be plainly
horrified at this prospect-I'm not, I've openly predicted that within a decade
presidential campaigns will cost a billion dollars up front.
No...this two hundred and fifty million dollars plus is a kind of
perverse signifier, it costs that much money to make a saintly strong decisive
statesman like leader out of such gruesome clay as George W. Bush.
You can take it also as a sign of just how scared they are despite all
the truculent talk of fifty state sweeps and historic galaxy wide
realignments.
So look for more daring flights to aircraft carriers and odd pictures lining up George Bush's noggin as the fifth head on Mount Rushmore...because truth be told the President has only two speaking styles, bored and incoherent. So whatever Bush's campaign may be, it won't be built on his scintillating speaking style.
It's always been this way though, even for the guys with natural ease at the podium and every prospect of a walk in the park. Look at the Great Senescence himself the Imperial Reagan, he needed every penny he could raise in 1984 to stave off a minuscule challenge from...Walter Mondale.
Time have changed little since then, idealogical warfare has become even rougher and pricier...but the commodification of charisma proceeds apace.