Ruminating on Homophily and Selling the President's Message

Homophily means simply that people have a tendency to surround themselves with people similar to themselves. This near-universal tendency is amplified to an extreme extent by our modern culture and technology dominated lives. This doesn't JUST refer to race, language, ethnicity or nationality, although they are clearly the most obvious examples, and it doesn't just refer to residential segregation, although that is probably the most recognized form. It's grown to a true phenomenon, as Robert Samuelson observed in a column called The 'Big Sort': The New Segregation. This cultural cocooning means that the modern American can realistically expect to almost NEVER encounter an opinion or lifestyle that disagrees with them. Whether it's your news source (ESPN, NYTimes, CNN, Fox, CBN, PerezHilton.com, etc.) or religion (think Utah or Ave Maria, FL), whatever your world view happens to be, you can continually reinforce it.

Perhaps it's the modern media, the ease with which we can find our comforting sources of information and the ease with which we can filter anything that might upset us. Whatever the reason or source the phenomenon came to mind while watching the President's Online Townhall today. I silently wondered whether the President might become overexposed, I also wondered if this constant campaigning is a good thing. To the first question I decided that given the extreme modern homophily we experience it is likely very unlikely that the President will experience overexposure. More likely, the juxtaposition of a President out and about in many situations (Mr. Obama) to a President you almost never saw except standing in one of four interchangeable sets (you know the one with the flags, or the one in the Oval Office, or the Rose Garden, or the screen with various aphorisms and political catch phrases plastered across it) likely communicates a narrative of a President who is in actively pursuing solutions to our myriad problems. It also meets the American people where they are, online or watching The Tonight Show or ESPN or 60 Minutes. Overexposure implies that people will tire of seeing the President (if they see him more than once and for more than a few minutes at any one time to begin with). There used to be this notion of keeping the President away from the media to make those few communications more powerful, but our modern electorate doesn't tune in like it once did and even if you count the echo effect that a rare appearance might generate, it won't communicate with the persuadables, those who are voters but don't follow politics or the news very often.

As to the other point, the constant campaign. Every President thinks about re-election and uses it as a guide to their actions and has done so forever. It's a good thing so long as it doesn't mean a President begins to lead from behind and follow public opinion like a lap dog looking for it's next bone to chew on. And I really don't think you can say that about this President, not yet at least. What might be problematic is when you're campaigning without an opponent. Which the President is doing right now, I mean, how can you be the good guy when there is no bad guy? It's hard, and bipartisanship, or at least the effort toward bipartisanship, is necessary to keep your poll numbers high among independents and moderates which gives you political capital (ideally at least). Maybe that's why the effort to tempt the Rush into the ring. What really might turn the stomach is when it's their guy (or gal) in the office and they're doing a good job of it, that's what makes the blood boil.

Be Brave. Be Wise. Be Compassionate.