Media Training Question #19 – Was Tea Party Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell Really A Witch?

Sept. 20, 2010 - PRLog -- Politics, I mean honestly, politics can be the highest form of entertainment in the purest definition of entertainment.  This past weekend gave us another example and I just had to share this stuff, because you really can’t make this up.

Christine O’Donnell is the candidate from Delaware running for the United States Senate.  She has become a media “darling” of late for a few reasons that are silly and depending on your personal politics, serious.

Last week she was shown in a rather dated piece of video when she appeared on an old MTV show.  During this interview she spoke about the evils of masturbation.  Now, I want to be clear here, everyone has a right to their opinion on anything, and I also get she was much younger when she gave this interview, but what I have learned, as will you, is that even years later she is taking on odd positions to issues and having some trouble with the English language in the process.  

This past weekend, Christine O’Donnell canceled appearances on the Sunday morning national talk shows after more video of her appeared, this time courtesy of Bill Maher, where she gave an interview where she talks about being involved with people that were into witchcraft.  It’s odd stuff.  Just watch the two videos and what you’ll see is a young woman and a modern day woman struggling with the way she speaks and her positions are, well, open to confusion and criticism.

OK, so we find ourselves once again with a political newcomer, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin and embraced by the national Tea Party.  I just find this all so entertaining, and I’ll tell you why.

Politics is actually very serious business, no, really it is.  I think people harbor different thoughts and attitudes about politics, and even within our two major political parties we have divides.  The Democrats have Progressives, or Liberals.  They have the more conservative wing of the Party that calls themselves Blue Dogs, and there are other off-shoots of the Party.

Republicans have for the most part held fast and true to who they are.  Until recently.  Enter the Tea Party who was born to the idea that the Republican Party had abandoned its conservative roots.  Now, depending on where you live in the country, the Tea Party is either big news or no news.  Movements are most often like that.  Some things take wind quicker than others, and some states just don’t have the passion to a point of view as some others.  So be it.

But now we are seeing, as the political process of elections begin to move at a quicker pace, some of the old guard losing their place in line and some of the new guard, namely those like Christine O’Donnell, moving in.

For the sake of our discussion today I will focus on O’Donnell because I find her entertaining, and not in a good way.  

In a recent interview, she was being interviewed along with former Bush White House strategist and advisor Carl Rove.  Rove, a staunch Republican doesn’t like Christine O’Donnell, as is obvious in the video.  He made some compelling arguments on why the voters in Delaware should shy away from her, including a trail of provable lies that have followed her.  Her response is my media training moment of the day.  

When asked to respond to what Rove said, she said that what he said was “unfactual”.  Problem?  The fact is there is no word “unfactual”.  But even before she answers, she stammers and stutters, and I have no real tolerance for public figures that can’t speak, with a few exceptions.  

Other problems with Christine O’Donnell?  

•   No one seems to know what she does for a living.  
•   While she “graduated” from college twenty years ago, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that she actually paid her college tuition to get her degree.
•   She ran for office in 2008 and still has debt for that campaign.
•   She owes back taxes and has made no effort to pay them

For those who think I am just picking on her because she is a Republican, think again.  There is nothing redeeming about her as a candidate, period.  In almost every speech and interview I have seen her do she struggles with the easiest questions and pre-written speeches.  It’s just bad politics and bad television.

And yet with all that presented, we see her endorsed by Sarah Palin, and in fact many people believe it was that endorsement that got her though her Primary.  The standard Republican is making every effort they can to distance themselves from her, and she continues to flit and fly without a care in the world.

We have serious problems in this country that need addressing.  We are faced with massive national unemployment.  The national housing crisis is staggering and debilitating.  Our debt service in unmanageable.  Our education system is horribly out of whack and underfunded.  We still have way too many of our men and women dying in wars.  And, our ability to secure our borders is still an issue at large.

And through all of this we are being inundated by a third party, the Tea Party, who can’t seem to decide what they want to be.  They can’t get along with each other.  They represent, according to them, the real heart of the Republican Party, and the Republican Party itself wants nothing to do with them.

So when people like Christine O’Donnell present themselves as alternatives to what ails us, and they are obviously having some success, it has to make you wonder who is paying attention, doesn’t it?
I am all for third party politics.  I believe anyone with a point of view should and does have a constitutional right to that opinion and a right to express it, including the Tea Party.  But that doesn’t mean we have to tolerate that point of view or allow that point of view to command our attention.  That is also our constitutional right.

I was very good friend with the now late Harry Browne, a many times Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party.  Harry and I didn’t agree on some things, and we did on other things.  But what I respected about him most of all was his considerate and respectful knowledge of the way he presented his views and that of his Party.  I have rarely agreed with Phyllis Schlafly, but her intelligent and articulate presentation of her point of view is thoughtful and targeted.  

When in college, William F. Buckley, Jr. came to speak on campus and he and I had an entertaining debate on issues of the day.  I was a wet behind the ears campus Liberal, and instead of turning me into dog food, which he could have easily done, he showed me great respect and gave credence to some of my opinions.  I am grateful for that connection to this day.  

My point, as a media trainer, a former political hopeful, and as a somewhat educated member of society is that political change comes with great responsibility and deep commitment and courage.  If you are willing to stand up for something do it with a real commitment to making educated, serious change.  And be sure you can articulate your point of view so that people will pay attention to you for the right reasons.

Third Party politics cannot be taken seriously when you have a Christine O’Donnell who advocates for masturbation control and can’t get a sentence out her mouth without making herself sound uneducated.  I’m certainly not a know-it-all, and I do not claim to have all the answers, but I do possess enough acumen to know when to talk and when to shut up.

There is a profoundly good reason that people seek out my media training services.  They are, to a person, deeply concerned that the way they and their message are perceived is done with a sense of responsibility and seriousness.  Even a light hearted message deserves that treatment.  

There are too many examples of people who make fools of themselves just by opening their mouths.  Sometimes it’s the message, and sometimes it the messenger.

In the case of Christine O’Donnell, it’s both.

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Tony has spent the better part of the past two decades in and around the media. As the host of his own nationally syndicated radio programs for 15 years, Tony has interviewed over 25,000 guests and appeared as a guest on over 800 radio and national television shows. He founded of his own public relations firm and he went on to author two books and became a “go to” authority on a myriad of issues from weight loss to self empowerment; from politics to pop culture. Tony’s list of media training clients number over 2000, many of them well known celebrities and authors. He often works under confidentially agreements and enjoys of the challenge of helping people discover their voice.
Tony is respected and well known for his honesty and willingness to do what it takes to get to a core message. He works tirelessly with his clients and advocates for his clients in finding the most passionate and profound tenets of their message and then giving them the tools to deliver that message.