Clinton Email Analysis - "Monster"

Recently, one of Senator Obama's senior foreign policy advisers made extremely disparaging remarks to a British journalist about Hillary Clinton (source) (original source).

• "We f***** up in Ohio," [Obama foreign policy specialist Samantha Power] admitted. "In Ohio, they are obsessed and Hillary is going to town on it, because she knows Ohio's the only place they can win."
  
  "She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything," Ms Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.
  
  Ms Power said of the Clinton campaign: "Here, it looks like desperation. I hope it looks like desperation there, too."
  
  "You just look at her and think, 'Ergh'. But if you are poor and she is telling you some story about how Obama is going to take your job away, maybe it will be more effective. The amount of deceit she has put forward is really unattractive."

After these remarks became public, the outcry became so loud that Power was forced to resign (source). Then, I received the following email from the Clinton campaign entitled Monster.

Dear John,

Just one day after Senator Obama promised to begin attacking Hillary, a senior Obama advisor has called her a "monster."

That's right -- a "monster."

At the same time, Senator Obama's aides have begun rehashing the old negative attacks of the 90's against Hillary.

This is not the politics of hope -- it's the usual attack style politics that we have seen time and time again.

And it must stop.

Only you can make that happen. A contribution now will show the Obama campaign that there is a price to this kind of attack politics.

Make a contribution to stop the Obama attacks.

You and I know Hillary is a fighter -- she has been fighting for what she believes in for 35 years, and as president, she's going to fight for us. So let's make sure she knows we have her back.

Thank you,

Terry McAuliffe
Chairman, Hillary Clinton for President

P.S. Calling Hillary a "monster" isn't the only attack we're seeing from the Obama campaign. We've seen deceptive radio attack ads and deceptive mailings in Texas and Ohio -- and now in Wyoming and Mississippi. Let's stop these attacks now -- make a contribution today.

Why This is Persuasive

• The monster quote is exaggerated and given a life of its own. It is highlighted so as to become so offensive that it engenders anger in the reader. (Creating anger, then asking for money seems to me a common persuasive tactic in political emails).
• The email makes it sound like everything depends upon the reader in order for the negative attacks to stop. ("Only you can make that happen")("Let's stop these attacks now -- make a contribution today."). (Hmm...How will donating money to the Clinton campaign to purchase attack ads against Obama stop Senator Obama from attacking--this reasoning makes no sense; won't this only increase the cycle of negative attacks? Won't this only make things worse?). But, this is politics and anything to scare up contributions is effective.
• The email makes things personal--trying to engender a bond between the reader and Hillary. In addition, the email seems to play on a sense of duty to protect Hillary ("let's make sure she knows we have her back.")
  
• "You and I know Hillary is a fighter -- she has been fighting for what she believes in for 35 years, and as president, she's going to fight for us. So let's make sure she knows we have her back."