Frank Luntz focus group on the latest GOP debate: Bad news for Perry

Over at AMERICAblog Elections: The Right's Field, Matt Ortega has posted a video of a classic Frank Luntz focus group (one of Fox's featurettes) in reaction to the just-ended GOP "debate."

It's a fascinating watch for a number of reasons.

One is that Mr. Perry seems to have stepped in it a few times with the selected "conservative" voters. Another is that Romney is consolidating consensus — either that or Luntz is trying to create one with sessions like this. A third is the guy who's all upset about "being told I'm heartless being a conservative" — believe me, I know the feeling; I get tired of calling them heartless myself.

There are other delights as well. There's a woman who wants to start "going department by department and cleaning house" in the executive branch, starting with the EPA. Why do Movement Conservatives and their fans never feel afraid to say this stuff, while our side — for whom an Embed search-and-destroy should have been Job 1 on Day 1 — are embarrassed to even broach the subject? (Rhetorical of course; you know the answer.)

But something else about this session struck me as well. As you watch, please note the first third of the clip, starting at about 0:50 in. The moderator asks, "Those of you who thought Mitt Romney won — why?"

Now listen to the answers. To a person, all of the initial comments related to appearances and presentation. "Decisive ... looked presidential ... Reagan-esque ... spoke with specificity ... confident ... elegant." (Elegant? Must be the hair.) Not a peep about what he thinks or will do.

In other words, without being prompted the respondents said in effect, "This was effective as manipulaton; that was ineffective."

So that's the first problem — judging a horse race by the look of the saddles. Not true of the whole session, of course, but a powerful first portion.

Which brings me to my real problem. Isn't it one of the effects of these fast, sexy, 15-minutes-of-fame broadcast segments, that it cements that superficial way of thinking in the audience? In other words, isn't one of Luntz's goals, conscious or not, to solidify in viewers the same bad standards of judgment they see praised in his panelists?

Looked at as audience-training rather than polling, this is rather effective — and again, that sexy, assertive bang-bang-bang pace is a big part of the sell, perhaps the most important part. After all, what "conservative" sado-masochistic daddy-seeking bunny rabbit would not want his own 15 minutes of fame up on that stage? Luntz shows you how to get there.

At any rate, enjoy the clip. It's not long, and Frank's a pro at whatever you think he's doing.

(And consider this my playful answer to this by Myrddin; yes, I think I did find something new.)

GP