Skip to main content

Election Positioning

Why is it that Israeli politicians are so negative.  Their public vocabulary is full of words that evoke negative reactions.  A quick survey of the front page or today's sites for ynet, haaretz and jpost shows the following statements:

"preventing peace" -- Surprisingly, Condolessa Rice said this and she's not even Israeli!  This is a meaningless phrase.  Why would any sane individual want to prevent peace.  

Meir Sheetrit said: "I predict a dangerous situation in which the rightist bloc would win 65 Knesset seats and Netanyahu would have a greater chance of forming a coalition."   What's so dangerous about your political opponent winning the election?  Perhaps  Sheetrit meant to say, "I predict that my party will suffer from a loss of prestige and credibility if a right-wing coalition locks us out of power."

Sheetrit went on to say: "Netanyahu and his rightist partners will not bring peace, but rather economic stagnation brought about by economic crisis."   Regardless of Netanyahu's plans, does Sheetrit's party have any good ideas?  Where are their plans?  How do they differ?  We need to know positions, not just negative slogans and hate-mongering.

Oh for the good old days of US national elections.  Where the candidates try to avoid negative statements and to focus instead on their own strengths.    I don't expect to see any platforms in Israel politics.  Other than the basic "land for peace" mantra, there seem to be no real platforms.  Israeli politicians are very good at throwing money to the poor.  It makes the poorer people a little better off, but it really makes the voters feel less guilty about their own positions.  

Where are the marketing professionals?  You don't buy a Honda because they tell you that buying a Ford will cause global warming.  Perhaps the one exception is that Apple sells laptops because Microsoft did such a poor job with Vista.

I would suggest that describing a convicted rapist as such would probably be a helpful political statement.  But calling your opponent a danger or an obstacle is just embarrassing.  Get a life. Tell me why you are better, not why he is worse.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A change of pace (Kidney Failure)

I have been trying to keep this blog focused on hospitality and food.  God though has other plans for his creations and I find now that I will have to expand the scope to cover new topics.  I'll try to continue blogging about my menus and our guests, but expect more posts that have little or nothing to do with food. In February of this year, My second oldest son, Asaf was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. Simply put, both his kidneys are damaged and scarred from some infection or defect that happened years ago.  They will likely cease to function sometime within the next six months. The good news is that there is no immediate danger to his life.  Kidney Dialysis is a viable option and can maintain his health for up to ten or more years if necessary.  Unfortunately, the process is not easy and there are potential side effects. Given Asaf's generally excellent health and age, Kidney Dialysis is considered only a stop-gap measure and not a long term solution. The best solutio...
13 comments
Read more

Pesach 5768 (2008) Overview

Pesach is just around the corner and preparations are already underway.  Our current guest list includes 7 gentlemen from a post-high school yeshiva program and two young ladies.  Our total count stands at 17 for all five meals. My wife and family are already working on cleaning the house.    Some of the dry goods purchases have been completed, and now we are looking at the protein purchase (butchers bill) and the fresh produce.  To get the process started off on the right foot, we are making menus.  In the general way of things, I expect these menus to change over the next 10 days.  Yet, I want to keep them online and get your input.  Do you think they are too light, too heavy, or just plain not enough for our hungry guests?  Let us know! There are five major meals that we need to prepare. Friday Night Dinner Early Shabbat Lunch (which must be eaten before 9:30am and that needs to include bread) Shabbat Lunch (around 1:30pm, that cannot include bread or matzoh) Seder Dinner First Day ...
3 comments
Read more

B"DE Clark Evenchick

B"DE = Baruch Dayan Emet, Blessed is the truthful judge. This is the traditional jewish response to hearing that someone has passed away. My friend Clark Evenchick passed away last night. He suffered for a number of years from ALS. His passing is both a loss and a blessing. We will miss his wit and his powerful presence. On the other hand, ALS is a terrible disease for both the patient and their family. As the body becomes less responsive, the family and caregivers need to spend more and more time providing physical and mental support. Clark's passing frees both himself and his family from this disease. Clark built our house. At one time, he ran a construction company. Clark was not only an honest contractor, but also a joy to work with. At a time when most houses took up to two years from ground breaking to residence, Clark built our house in 7 months. Whenever there was a problem, we were more than comfortable telling him to find his own solution. I believe that...
4 comments
Read more