At the 1988 Republican National Convention, George H.W. Bush delivered a whopper:
“Read my lips: no new taxes.”
The line was terse and simple – all in all, a smash hit with the anti-tax Reagan conservatives.
But “Daddy” Bush raised taxes in 1990, and that same phrase – six measly words in a 4,694 word speech – is largely credited with facilitating his failed re-election bid in 1992.
“Daddy” Bush’s experience, however, is not unique. Sound bites are a staple in political coverage and are a highly influential tool for journalists and politicians.
Time and length are always of concern to journalists, and sound bites offer a way to summarize lengthy speeches or interviews into easy-to-digest pieces. Sound bites simplify the news – essentially, go ahead and file sound bites under the “media and public are too lazy” category.
Politicians and speechwriters are aware of the popularity of sound bite journalism, and they often produce speeches custom-made to be chopped into little bits. As long as politicians can produce two or three zingers in a 20-minute speech, they can get away with offering no real discussion about an issue.
A politician who controls what becomes a sound bite controls the narrative.
So, politicians live and die by sound bites – simplifying political discourse into labels like “death tax” and “Islamofacism” may be irresponsibly lazy, but it effectively garners passionate support.
All of this is why Sen. Barack Obama’s, D-Ill., March 18 speech “A More Perfect Union” was risky business.
The speech was nuanced and honest, two attributes most politicians seem to avoid – especially when faced with a crisis. It is the kind of speech that cannot be summed up into convenient ear candy.
The whole speech is better than the sum of its parts. It offers a refreshing and stark contrast to one of President Bush’s all too familiar “he-can-run-but-he-can’t-hide” speeches.
Whether it was Obama’s intent or simply the byproduct of an excellent speech, he challenged the legacy of the sound bite, and he challenged the public to help elevate the level of political discourse in this country.
And with major kudos to the Internet, this challenge has been largely met.
As of Monday night, the speech has more than 3.1 million views on YouTube.com – making it the most viewed video of the month. The full transcript of the speech is still one of the most e-mailed, discussed and searched items on The New York Times’ home page.
Add in the droves of people who have been e-mailed the speech, read the transcript from the thousands of other pages it was posted or actually managed to watch the entire speech on television, and the amount of people this speech has reached becomes staggering.
Sound bites are a product of traditional media, but conventional media are no longer the sole gate keepers of information. The Internet has empowered the public and an increasing number of people are choosing to bypass traditional media altogether. With the ability to easily access full transcripts and videos, sound bites are rapidly becoming outdated.
In fact, some – like The Democratic Strategist writer Matt Compton – already believe the influence of the sound bite is on the decline.
However, Compton also suggests that the speech offered too many opportunities to create negative sound bites, noting that one of the first headlines he saw from the speech on MSNBC read “Obama: racism is ‘real.'” To that end, Compton highlights an important point – the sound bite, while perhaps on the decline, is not going away anytime soon.
Sound bites are the reason Obama had to give his speech in the first place. Clips of Obama’s pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright giving what appeared to be bigoted and anti-American sermons were widely circulated by all of the major media networks.
The clips were taken out of context from Wright’s full sermons and the historical and cultural legacy from which his inflammatory comments spawned.
But that’s what sound bites do best – and if you don’t believe me, see for yourself.
—-Contact Nate Monroe at [email protected].