Tamara considers it both a duty and a hobby activity to watch the Sunday morning political pundit and interview shows, so of course she watched Kristen Welker's inaugural turn hosting NBC's Meet The Press.
She interviewed former President Donald Trump. Lots of people have mentioned his "firehose" approach to interviews and speeches but what struck me was that his discursive, groping style is a form of "cold-reading." I have never made any secret about how annoying I find it; this sidling up to definite statements, always throwing out a range of numbers instead of being specific and general fuzziness around the edges is characteristic of every bad General Manager I have worked for, all of them with a Sales background.
Just like Mr. Trump, they'd look you right in the eye while they sprayed you with their firehose of notions -- watching intently for your reaction, punching buttons until something lit up. They'd latch onto it if it was something they wanted, or downplay it if they didn't, and turn the firehose back on.
It's difficult to counter, hard to steer in a one-on-one talk, and obnoxiously manipulative. Cold-reading works best if the person doing it is heartlessly analytical, while presenting themselves as empathetic. It's the one of the best tools in the skill set of a con man.
In my opinion, Mr. Trump's either going to ruin the Republicans or ruin the country. Since I value having at least two fairly mature, reasonably sane political parties and I value my country even more. I don't see anything especially good ahead. My only question is, will the trouble be short-term or long-term?
The Meet The Press interview didn't provide an answer for that
Not all sales people are like that.
ReplyDeleteI hate the “back slippers” in my profession.
"Not all salespeople," hey? True. But many are. In my line of work, especially when I was in radio, the Sales people were selling what amounted to an intangible, and many of them were like that. On the other hand, it was an honest intangible -- radio advertising does work -- and most of them weren't grifters.
ReplyDeleteSome people can take that skill set and be persuasive, inspirational managers. Other can use it to scam folks, or talk them into accepting lousy deals. BTDT. And I have met a lot of "sales engineers" with a tendency to overstate the things their large, expensive products can do. I won't stand for it; I read the specs and the manuals, and if I can lay hands on the stuff or talk to current users, I do. I got burned a few times and had make equipment live up to inflated promises, and after that, I wised up.
"My only question is, will the trouble be short-term or long-term?"
ReplyDeleteIn the words of Tony Stark, "Is it too much to ask for both?"
To be fair, he is pretty direct when he talks about his opinion regarding his own greatness and infallibility, and how those he doesn't like are the worst, just the absolute worst. Which is pretty much everyone who has ever worked for him at this point.
ReplyDeleteDr. Coyote: why would you want that? Why would *anyone* in their right mind want that? I want an intact country with at least two approximately-sane political parties. It's not too much to ask.
ReplyDeleteJoe: most of the bad bosses I have worked for were good at that kind of self-puffery and put-downs for their opposition/competition, too. It had little if any connection to reality.
Roberta X: "why would you want that? Why would *anyone* in their right mind want that? I want an intact country with at least two approximately-sane political parties. It's not too much to ask."
ReplyDeleteOh I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I only wish trouble for those causing the problems within the political system, not on the country as a whole. I too very much want an intact country with choice of sane political parties.
One would think that pretty much everyone who has been appointed by Trump inevitably ends up hating him after Trump throws them under a bus would be a UUuuuugggeee hint about his fitness to be a leader.
ReplyDeleteEither the Globalhomo conspiracy is so vast that they keep throwing him traitors & incompetents to hire... or maybe he just absolutely sucks at hiring and sucks more at keeping competent people.
"My only question is, will the trouble be short-term or long-term?"
ReplyDeleteAlas, yes.
Joe: to be fair, unhappy customers always make the most noise. I agree, it appears to be a clear pattern, but there is no shortage of eager replacements.
ReplyDeleteAs a complete outsider with little skin in the game, I am of the opinion that both sides are intent on ruining the country. Or rather, both sides are intent on furthering their own goals and if that ruins the country so be it.
ReplyDeleteWhich is pretty much how our leaders-du-jour tend to do things over here.
Lamp post, rope, some assembly -- except they know by now to provide just enough bread and circus.
As your housemate said, as long as the internet and sewerage holds out for another couple decades...
WRM, the problem with "both-siderism" is that one party is, at least in large part, concerned with running the government in a marginally functionally way (while doing plenty of posturing) -- and the other party is entirely concerned with posturing, fantasy, and trying to cover-up their clumsily attempted coup.
ReplyDeleteIt's the difference between a sane man in a bad mood and a homicidal lunatic. They're both kinda crabby but only one of them is deadly.
Compare Bob Menendez and George Santos, and how their peers in their respective parties have reacted. The both appear to be crooks, but darned few Dems are supporting Menendez -- and darned few Republicans have condemned Santos.
Yes, the choices on offer are both bad, but one's a lot worse than the other.