First Impressions, Part 2
We tend to make major, lasting impressions based on the smallest, seemingly insignificant details.
This morning’s New York Times has an excellent article by Matt Bai offering a political angle to this truism. While the hook was President Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill, the piece mentioned how other presidents have suffered from (or dodged) negative public perceptions…or, how well they’ve projected a sense of control over the chaos of events around them.
Bai’s piece reminded me of Jimmy Carter and how a potentially obscure wildlife encounter helped further tip things in favor of Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election. While the Attack Rabbit Incident might have appeared otherwise innocent or silly, it fanned doubts about Carter’s strength as much or more than the Iranian hostage crisis, economic woes and the like. (more…)
