Judas: A Powerful Metaphor

Metaphors are extremely powerful persuasive tools. They evoke certain connections and connotations. On Saturday night, I was sitting in the living room of my apartment watching the NCAA tournament and I heard my brother yell from the other room. A bit surprised, I got up and asked him what was going on. He said, "take a look at this," pointing to an article from the New York Times that he was reading.

The portion of the article, which discussed Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama despite Richardson's long history with the Clintons, read:

The reaction of some of Mr. Clinton’s allies suggests that might have been a wise decision. “An act of betrayal,” said James Carville, an adviser to Mrs. Clinton and a friend of Mr. Clinton.

“Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,” Mr. Carville said, referring to Holy Week. (source)

I was absolutely astounded that Mr. Carville, a man known for hard-hitting politics, would make a comment like this. Personally, it has not surprised me at all that this comment has received a lot of play in the media. To clearly see the persuasive power of the metaphor, notice that there is a profound difference between calling someone a "betrayer" and someone a "Judas." The connotation of Judas also produces the implicit reference that Hillary Clinton is a Christ-figure and Barack Obama is a Satan-figure.

Despite the controversy, Mr. Carville is not backing down (source).

“I was quoted accurately and in context, and I was glad to give the quote and I was glad I gave it,” Mr. Carville said. “I’m not apologizing, I’m not resigning, I’m not doing anything.” (source)