Despite the screams of many terrified Cassandras (one of which I’ve been for a month), warnings didn’t work and Odysseus is set to move inside the white walls of happy Troy. All right, this analogy may be too far-fetched, but many of the celebrating Trojans will eventually have to face the grim reality. And since predicting the future sometimes helps to shape it (just ask CNN and NBC) I’m putting a Nostradamus’s hat on and revealing some predictions. While many smart and much better informed people are predicting now the next Obama’s moves and GOP’s reaction, my premonitions are based only on common sense. And so it goes, in no particular order:
1. Mainstream media (MSM) will go into a “mea culpa” mode.
And it would have nothing to do with consciousness. During this election, the MSM figured that winning was more important that keeping the gloves on and so it went a tad too far. It made moderate liberals to talk about pro-Obama bias, as for conservatives it made them see MSM the way it really has been – a tool utilized to the full degree by the left to gain power. Fox has been labeled conservative for years, but now AP, CNN, NBC and others can’t avoid being labeled liberal by a large chunk of Americans. And this is something they can’t afford, since it undermines their usefulness, not to mention potential business losses. The same pragmatic minds who decided to take the mask off during the election season will decide to put it on promptly now, and to work hard to convince us that they truly are independent and unbiased media outlets. And there’s no better way to do that than saying “Oh my, look at how mean we’ve been to poor Sarah and good ol’ John.” Expect AP stories about media bias, experts’ opinions on how media must be more neutral in the future, a mild (very mild) criticism of Obama and influx of conservative-focused articles. Don’t expect this mode to last long though. Probability: 99%. Advice: don’t buy into it and get used to getting your news from variety of sources, including alternative media (means blogs).
2. President-elect Obama’s staff will work hard to lower expectations.
When your supporters think they won’t have to pay their mortgages after the inauguration, there’s a big gap between change they believe in and change you can deliver. The campaign is over and it’s time start lowering the temperature of the water, so that cold shower of reality doesn’t come as a shock. Expect direct messaging from the President-elect’s staff and influx of let’s-get-real articles in MSM. Probability: 99.9%. Advice: once it’s start happening bring it up with those of your friends who supported Obama, but are open to a discussion.
3. Domestic economic situation will improve significantly in three months after President Obama moves into the White House.
I know it sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory (and it probably is), but Nostradamus’s hat insists on this prediction. The timing of this crisis was too interesting to rule it out. Probability: 70%. Expect: Dr. Slogan to be silent about this topic until his prediction is validated or proved inaccurate by reality. Advice: don’t pay much attention to this prediction unless it gets validated.
And as a bonus, here are a couple of red flags to watch out for:
1. Continuous proliferation of the familiar round logo and portraits of the President-elect.
While the change slogans are likely to go away soon (in part due to the prediction number 2), the round logo can still be utilized. If it does, be wary. Symbols are a very powerful tool and the only symbols the President should be utilizing are those of the country.
2. Suppression of the President-elect’s criticism either by concerned citizens, public officials or any combination of those.
Truth squads were perhaps the most frightening element that surfaced during the campaign. Any truth-squading activity once the campaign is over would be twice as frightening. For a good sample of the level of criticism President Obama should be ready to accept, refer to the public’s and media’s feedback to President Bush.
If you spot new round logos somewhere after December, or face free speech suppression please share your concerns here and on other forums.
That concludes today’s portion of Dr. Slogan’s common sense medicine.
Source: Dr. Slogan's Prescriptions
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