Random Acts of Chaos

"…his audience doesn’t accept that Romney knows what is “the real, enduring best interest of African American families.” They could be wrong, but no one wins over any constituency or interest group by telling them that his understanding of their interests is better than theirs. That is essentially what Romney said early in his speech. This isn’t a problem of communication. Romney’s error here is the same one that many Americans make when they argue that better public diplomacy (by which they usually mean better P.R.) will change the way that other nations view U.S. policies. We have heard something like this before: “If only it were possible for Washington to communicate fully what it believes is the real, enduring best interest for [name of foreign nation here], that nation would support U.S. policy towards them and their region.” This is the equivalent of saying, “Of course, I am obviously right, and it is only because of your lack of understanding and my failure to explain my position clearly enough that you don’t agree with me.” This is the opposite of persuasion."