The Huffington Post has a revealing statement from McCain. Its interesting not because its McCain who said it, because I don't believe he matters much anymore. Rather, it reveals what I observe as a fundamental tenet of the modern conservative movement.
"He had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions, which really are the essence of successful negotiations," McCain said
Um, no. That's not the essence of successful negotiations. That's the essence of belligerence. Successful negotiation consists of finding a way to contribute to each other's goals together. Its basic game theory as well as Obama's one true strength. Its sad so many people don't grasp this fundamental lesson in human interaction.
Update: The Stupid! It Burns! After that brilliant quote from McCain above, we have Wolfie with probably the dumbest statement I've heard in a long time.
3 comments:
I think Sir Charles at Cogitamus (who is a labor attorney, and presumably knows something about negotiating with hostile parties) has it right:
...Kennedy understood that the way to be an effective deal maker was to never negotiate against yourself -- to start from a strong position and try to carve out common ground where needed. He never embraced bipartisanship for its own sake (ask Robert Bork), but rather when it would substantively advance his cause....
Yes, I read that comment with interest. Sir Charles and the posts at Cogitamus are actually helping me cope with work in this horrible economic crisis. This is not fun.
Yes, I read that comment with interest. Sir Charles and the posts at Cogitamus are actually helping me cope with work in this horrible economic crisis. This is not fun.
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