Back in May, I had an article on the DU front page about why the Republicans were getting away with their lies and bullshit about what was going on in Iraq:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/05/13_story.htmlMy basic idea was that they had constructed a compelling story and convinced all the major media outlets to tell it, and that this story was now so powerful that the fact that it was fiction would never really matter...unless the story itself started to unravel. I identified 4 sort of narrative weaknesses that might cause that to happen: 1) characterization 2) closure 3) continuity and 4) identification.
And you know what? Since May, the Rovian story has been falling apart on all four fronts:
1) Characterization. From the moment Bush said "Bring 'em on," the characterization of Bush as gunslinging vigilante cowboy became a liability instead of an asset. The statement was 'in character,' or at least in the character they had constructed for him; but it was also obviously, boneheadedly stupid. Since then, that character has been getting markedly less sympathetic as it becomes clearer that he will not be able to rise to the challenges presented to him by the plot. The other night's speech was an even worse moment for Bush's characterization; cowboys don't go around begging for $87 billion, nor do they need an international peacekeeping force to take care of the black hats.
2) Closure. This is the biggie; in my opinion it was the loose thread that started the whole unraveling. Rove tried to end the story before it was over. That "Mission Accomplished" banner is starting to seem more like an ironic joke with every passing day. In fact, his appeal to story logic has--as some here predicted--backfired in a spectacular way because it gave people a benchmark. Operation Iraqi Freedom I may have ended on that aircraft carrier; but Operation Iraqi Freedom II: The Occupation From Hell opened the same night, and the sequel is bombing, as sequels so often do. All the good stuff happened in the first movie; this thing is just the same crap we've seen before only somehow it is just not as entertaining--plus it's much bloodier.
3) Continuity. Man, where does one begin. First of all, the WMDs. They built that whole subplot up like crazy and it turns out to go NOWHERE. Second, the 'liberation.' OK, how is it that people were welcoming us with flowers one minute and then welcoming us with land mines, homemade bombs, RPGs and grenades the next? That doesn't make any sense. And finally, the U.N. We didn't need the U.N. The U.N. was "irrelevant." We were gonna go it alone. Remember? What the hell happened?
4) Identification. On this one, the story is: It's the economy, stupid. As more Americans feel the sting of this recession, the President's penchant for month-long vacations starts to make him a lot less sympathetic. Then again, there's the fixation on tax cuts, which is wearing a little thin for people whose incomes will not be taxed because they do not exist. As his lack of concern for ordinary working Americans becomes ever more clear, the readers are losing their ability to identify with him. You could see that on the faces of those construction workers in the audience at Bush's labor day stop in Ohio. "Who is this clown and how long do I have to pretend I don't want to rip his head off?"
So the story is falling apart. We're in a story vaccuum right now. Now is the time, people! Seize the day! We need to get our own story up and running while we can still sell it!
C ya,
The Plaid Adder
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