David Mamet tells dems- be like poker players!

[britspin]

Interesting article in LA times today from Glengarry Glen Ross author David Mamet (great playwright imho. | broadly agree- but I'm British, so what do I know... Full article at link, edited highlights below.

Poker party

By David Mamet

ONE NEEDS TO know but three words to play poker: call, raise or fold.
"In poker, one must have courage: the courage to bet, to back one's convictions, one's intuitions, one's understanding. There can be no victory without courage. The successful player must be willing to wager on likelihoods. Should he wait for absolutely risk-free certainty, he will win nothing, regardless of the cards he is dealt"

"The Democrats, similarly, in their quest for a strategy that would alienate no voters, have given away the store, and they have given away the country.

"Committed Democrats watched while Al Gore frittered away the sure-thing election of 2000. They watched, passively, while the Bush administration concocted a phony war; they, in the main, voted for the war knowing it was purposeless, out of fear of being thought weak. They then ran a candidate who refused to stand up to accusations of lack of patriotism.

The Republicans, like the perpetual raiser at the poker table, became increasingly bold as the Democrats signaled their absolute reluctance to seize the initiative."

"The American public chose Bush over Kerry in 2004. How, the undecided electorate rightly wondered, could one believe that Kerry would stand up for America when he could not stand up to Bush? A possible response to the Swift boat veterans would have been: "I served. He didn't. I didn't bring up the subject, but, if all George Bush has to show for his time in the Guard is a scrap of paper with some doodling on it, I say the man was a deserter."

This would have been a raise. Here the initiative has been seized, and the opponent must now fume and bluster and scream unfair. In combat, in politics, in poker, there is no certainty; there is only likelihood, and the likelihood is that aggression will prevail."

"One may sit at the poker table all night and never bet and still go home broke, having anted away one's stake.

The Democrats are anteing away their time at the table. They may be bold and risk defeat, or be passive and ensure it."

[adios]

C'mon, Kerry promoted his service in Vietnam. The urban myth continues, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth cost Kerry the election. Actually I like the gist of the article a great deal. Kerry blew the election regarding his policy or lack thereof regarding Iraq IMO. If he would have had half a brain he could have easily pointed out all the problems that existed such as problems with the CPA and what he would do and would have done. I'm sure I'll be taken to task by the Kerry supporters stating the he did have a policy on Iraq. Save it please. He had no credible policy on Iraq. He should have talked a lot tougher regarding terrorist attacks such as Beslan as well. This is where he should have raised it up big time. As the author more or less states, Kerry came off as a mamby-pamby wimp. I don't care what you all say about running on raising taxes, that's a horrid campaign strategy. I fully expect grey to come out with a poll stating that Kerry could win the election if it were held today.

Oh yeah and his statements about how much he cares about the "common man" doesn't sell that well when he takes campaign breaks to go snow boarding and wind surfing. Other than that he ran a fairly good campaign. He came close.

[lehighguy]

I always though of Dems like the table coach. Loud, rude, telling other people how to play even though they don't know themselves.

[cardcounter0]

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Oh yeah and his statements about how much he cares about the "common man" doesn't sell that well when he takes campaign breaks to go snow boarding and wind surfing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hahahahaha! Thanks for putting it all in perspective.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]

The Republicans, like the perpetual raiser at the poker table, became increasingly bold as the Democrats signaled their absolute reluctance to seize the initiative."

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So he's saying the republicans are the maniac LAGS?

What does poker theory teach us about the political spectrum and where you should be on it:

You always want the Republican to your right.

[PITTM]

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I always though of Dems like the table coach. Loud, rude, telling other people how to play even though they don't know themselves.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, why would you object to a horribly run government. idiots...

rj

[BluffTHIS!]

[ QUOTE ]
I always though of Dems like the table coach. Loud, rude, telling other people how to play even though they don't know themselves.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is about right. And the reason is what Mahmet said about democrats trying never to offend anyone, except of course, who they define as rich. This is because the democrats lack both unity and a willingness to back the play of the majority in their own camp. So half of them says call and the other half says raise, and the result is they mostly just fold.

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
As the author more or less states, Kerry came off as a mamby-pamby wimp.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh yeah and his statements about how much he cares about the "common man" doesn't sell that well when he takes campaign breaks to go snow boarding and wind surfing.


[/ QUOTE ]

The top quote has much more to do with why Kerry’s penchant for windsurfing and snowboarding was much more damaging to the Kerry campaign than his ‘caring for the common man.’

'Common people' know they don't have much in common with either Bush or Kerry. What they also 'know' is that (thanks to the right-wing echo chamber + Kerry campaign impotence):

George Bush = masculine leader capable of standing tall against terrorists
John Kerry = effete (or in less coded language, feminine) girly-man who wants to fight a ‘sensitive’ war on terrorism.

Anyway, I don't think Mamet is that far off the mark. A rather good article, IMO.

[AKQJ10]

DailyKos discussion (apologies for starting a new thread; I thought the column was from today's LAT)