“At the speed of light, policies and political parties yield place to charismatic images” = McLuhan
Obama lost momentum and people were able to look beyond the fake smile. Obama is doing this speech to recharge the crisis and hit the accelerator. Obama needs more gasoline on the fire.
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Each medium, independent of the content it mediates, has its own intrinsic effects which are its unique message.
The message of any medium or technology is the change of scale
or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs. The railway did not introduce movement or transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure. This happened whether the railway functioned in a tropical or northern environment, and is quite independent of the freight or content of the railway medium. (Understanding Media, N. Y., 1964, p. 8)
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Obama is using the MEDIUM of the joint session to look presidential and change the pace of the debate.
It is a forced “time out”
we need a HUGE protest at the same time.