Notes From D. R.

Yet another parallel to be found between the 2000 Bush-Gore Presidential contest and the 2006 Healey-Patrick Massachusetts gubernatorial race: the role of the electronic media in destroying stereotypes about the Republican candidate.

In September 2000, George W. Bush made a now-famous appearance on Oprah
Winfrey’s television show. The program showed Bush as relaxed, intelligent, and personable, a sharp contrast to the ignorant, boorish frat boy persona created for him by the Democrats. Chris Rock would later joke that the interview got Bush elected, because once Americans saw the show, they could no longer accept the notion that Bush was unintelligent.

Similarly, Kerry Healey’s frequent appearances on Boston-area talk radio help to erode the aloof, out-of-touch image foisted upon Healey by the left. Healey’s interviews on WRKO-AM and WTKK-FM reveal her to be highly intelligent, genial and confident–the polar opposite of the Democrat perception of her as the woman who stood silently behind Mitt Romney for four years. Healey comes across as an independent thinker, a woman of reason and principle, and a candidate committed to the continued improvement of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts–in short, nothing like the Blue Mass. Group caricature of her.

Just as Oprah clearly played a role in Bush’s win, talk radio will be a major factor in a Healey win. Massachusetts Democrat party chair Philip Johnston has already acknowledged the influence that talk radio has on politics in Massachusetts. If Healey defeats Patrick on November 7, that influence will be felt again.