Negativity, Part 2

No sooner do I post on negativity, than I come across this, in the "Media Guy" column by Simon Dumenco in AdWeek:

It’s no surprise that Bush took this PR-trumps-action tack for Katrina. For much of his five years in office, he’s seen that putting a faux-cheerful, faux-hopeful spin on even the worst calamities (see also: the war in Iraq) meant that a cheerful, hopeful spin would automatically float to the top of the memepool, at least momentarily. If he kept repeating these faux-cheerful, faux-hopeful things ad nauseum, he’d have a great shot of at least partially obscuring all the actual rotting nastiness lurking below the surface.

Negative thinkers are so sodden in negative-think that they can see optimism only one way: As a lie. Dumenco sees it all as faux because he has not experienced enough cheerfulness and hopefulness in his life, so the very thought of it makes him ill.

Upon reading his column, I looked up and sure enough, that little light bulb was floating over my head. No wonder the media dislikes Bush so much! He's got an optimistic outlook. He believes in the good in people (and the evil in some). He knows in his heart that America is a bright and blessed place that can do great things if it sets its mind and heart to it.

Oh, how that drives them into a frenzy of loathing!

h/t Media Bistro