Diana Butler Bass: Dueling Visions of American Renewal - Progressive Revival

Dueling Visions of American Renewal - Progressive Revival: Diana Butler Bass:

"In 2004, a little book appeared that made quite a splash among dispirited Democrats: George Lakoff's Don't Think of an Elephant. In it, Lakoff argued that Republicans and Democrats worked out of two different 'framing' stories--frames are 'mental structures that shape the way we see the world.' Republicans frame their politics in the terms of 'a strict father family,' while Democrats frame theirs on the ideal of a 'nurturant parent family.' According to Lakoff, the party with the most compelling storyline often 'wins' in public discourse.

Yesterday, in the dueling national security speeches of former Vice-President Cheney and President Obama, the two storylines stood in stark contrast--a visible demonstration of the difference between political approaches."