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The space is the substance

2 comments on The space is the substance

The space is the substance

: Jay Rosen has an interesting post (of course) analyzing the space of the conventions: the RNC, with the folksy Bush among the people in the round… vs. the DNC, with Kerry up in the command podium, saluting… vs. the people on Seventh Avenue. (And he disagrees with me about the anachronistic nature of demonstrations.)

2 responses to “The space is the substance”

  1. freddsie poo Avatar
    freddsie poo

    Didthe GOP do feng shui too? What crap…I expect a commander to be up front and not playing populist in jeans and cowboy hat when he works with a batch of thugs The Haliburton Gang

  2. Chris Josephson Avatar
    Chris Josephson

    Enjoyed the article very much. Lots of food for thought.
    I’m sure the visual impact of the stage has been studied and will be used to what the RNC believes to be its best advantage. However, I think Bush not only tries to portray simplicity, there is something about him that seems simple, much more common-man-type.
    I can imagine Kerry sitting down to a grand feast with the European elite and being very much one of them. He’d fit in very well. If I imagine Bush in the same setting, I see Bush as being out of place. Bush wouldn’t fit in as well. Bush is too awkward, too simple, for such a setting.
    I can imagine Bush sitting in a diner, among blue collar workers, for a meal and he fits in. He’d be comfortable in such a setting. Kerry would be awkward in this setting.
    I realize both Kerry and Bush are children of privilege and are both much more wealthy than the average person they want to represent. However, Bush seems less out of touch with the average person than Kerry does.
    It’s not because I am less familiar with Kerry that I feel this way. Kerry is one of the senators from my state. Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt in my case. Don’t know. But, when I think of simple and down to earth, Bush comes to mind more than Kerry does to me.
    To me, a less grandiose setting fits Bush’s personality. Kerry seems to fit with big and grandiose. Bush doesn’t.
    The physical stage at the RNC seems more a reflection of what Bush is rather than anything else.