In their masterpiece on political campaign strategy, James Carville and Paul Begala provide politicians with a dozen winning secrets. Among them, the key is to "buck up, suck up, and come back when you foul up."
As political consultants for former US president Bill Clinton, Carville and Begala remind politicians of what to do next when they win and how to recover when you really screw up.
The philosophy is simple but frequently neglected: Once you've won, the goal is not to gloat, it's to win again. Do everything you can to set yourself up for another victory. Do nothing that will make your next effort more difficult. But if you mess up, take responsibility, thereby demonstrating that even when you fouled up, you're responsible. Accepting responsibility is better than taking blame.
The pan-blue camp's complacent attitude about its victory in last month's legislative elections -- as well as its leaders' moves to take advantage of the de facto majority to attempt to blackmail the Chen Shui-bian (
The political wrestling among the blue camp also signified their incoherence, especially when it comes to past campaign rivalries and future cooperation.
Not only did the People First Party (PFP) pour cold water on the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) proposal to merge quickly and instead "walk on its own road," their under-the-table dealings with the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have opened the possibility of party cooperation that cross blue and green lines.
While Chen resigned the DPP chairmanship to take responsibility for the party's failure to secure a majority in the legislature, it revealed a timely and skillful adjustment of Chen's leadership strategy to clear the battlefield and move to the next one.
Clearly Chen has a well-calculated agenda in mind. Chen not only took responsibility for his party's poor performance in an unprecedented and modest way, he also urged party members to engage in self-examination.
Later, in his New Year's address to the nation, Chen stressed the need for reconciliation and dialogue between the opposing camps and took steps toward reconciliation and cooperation needed to power the country toward reinvigorating the economy and upgrading its national competitiveness. Chen also left room for party-to-party negotiations on key personnel arrangements and policy decisions by emphasizing that "politics is an art of possibilities."
In order to rebuild his leadership, Chen successfully minimized the "lame-duck effect" by appointing Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang(蘇貞昌) as the acting DPP chairman and began to groom senior DPP official and Kaohsiung City mayor Frank Hsieh.
In terms of regaining control of political agenda, Chen also offered an olive branch to the opposition party leaders by opening chances of policy dialogue and negotiation. Most importantly, Chen echoed the pubic by generating an urgent need for the nation to put aside political finger-pointing and partisan disputes.
While Lien and his followers are still obsessed with the presidential election results and put all their hopes on what they call "the new legitimacy," their chances might have slipped away as the DPP reorients its strategy to meet the new political climate.
During elections, the trick is to not get so carried away with being gracious in victory that you forget what you are fighting for. All victories are fleeting. When you win one, move quickly and decisively to consolidate your gains. No one is ever sustained by past glory.
Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS