Global Banking and the Future: A Financial Times In Depth Series

Three years after the banking crisis as induced by the fall of Lehman Brothers, what is the scoop?

See In depth coverage of the Future of Banking

Republican Debate at the Reagan Library - Live Blogging from The Caucus at the NYTimes.com: Keep It Simple and Keep it Clean

At Live-Blogging the Republican Debate at the Reagan Library, the comments of the commentators at the New York Times blog, The Caucus, show clearly that Texas Governor Rick Perry won the debate.

The reason for this is that Perry -- despite his abysmal academic record at Texas A&M -- has the skill of sticking to the red buttons that are of main interest to voters without getting side-tracked on side issues. He speaks the simple language of a good share of the voting citizenry, a facility which can be converted into political election wins.

There is sometimes a misconception that intelligence rather than cleverness has anything to do with politics, as the G. W. Bush presidency aptly proves.

Rather, good politics is like good golf. The better you are at blocking out everything other than golf, the better you play.

The more you concentrate on what the electorate WANTS, the greater your success, regardless of the number of grey cells in your brain.

Gustave Le Bon, who studied crowd psychology, wrote to the effect that "the crowd" was a woman moved by emotion, rather than by reason. Indeed, Le Bon was a pioneer in understanding manipulation of the mass mind by modern advertising media.

Perry is adept at this type of basic communication, which, I guess, you can expect from a former cheerleader -- Perry was a male "yell leader" at Texas A&M. The "crowd" wants "rah-rah" and that is what you give them.

As written about Perry at the Wikipedia:

"In the early 1970s, Perry interned during several summers with the Southwestern Company, as a door-to-door book salesman. "I count my time working for Dortch Oldham [President of the Southwestern Company] as one of the most important formative experiences of my life," Perry said in 2010. "There is nothing that tests your commitment to a goal like getting a few doors closed in your face." He said that "Mr. Oldham taught legions of young people to communicate quickly, clearly and with passion, a lesson that has served me well in my life since then."^[14]"

[LawPundit note: the footnote cite is to Wood, E. Thomas (2009-02-27). "Dortch Oldham dies at 89". NashvillePost.com. Retrieved 2010-12-02.]

As someone who myself sold Fuller Brush products door-to-door one summer as a student, I can relate to that. Either you learned quickly what housewives wanted, and how to give it to them smartly, or you made no sales. It was as simple as that.

You want a woman's vote? Tell her you are going to "clean house" and that you have a spray to clear the air. House cleaners and a garbage spray were the top sellers in those days. Door-to-door vacuum cleaner companies still make millions today using this same basic communicative "cleaning" formula.

Perry is a formidable candidate and will probably win the Republican nomination.

German Constitutional Court Upholds Germany in Eurozone Bailout Participation

See the video at BBC News - German court rejects challenge to eurozone bailouts