Everybody has had a slip of the tongue
once before, and when one talks as much as a politician, one is bound to slip
up more often than others. No big
deal...unless there is a recording device and an internet connection near by.
ICT has made the political gaffe more
damaging (and often times more entertaining) than ever before. Fifteen years ago, a gaffe that was caught on film
would usually make its way to Saturday Night Live (SNL), air once, and be talked
about amongst friends. However, in
today’s world, a gaffe can be caught by a cell phone camera and viewed thousands of times all across the world before the next day is over.
There is no amount of spin that can control a video gaffe once it has gone viral. Take for example Virginia Senatorial candidate, George Allen. He was caught calling
his opponents Indian-American campaign staffer a racial-slur.
Then there is media darling and gaffe
machine, Sarah Palin. She had a gaffe
that was so painful the actual clip and the SNL parody both went viral. It is tough for a politician to
refocus the narrative once the public has emailed, posted, Tweeted, and Youtube’d
the clip millions of times.
One gaffe that essentially ended a presidential run was this legendary (and frankly painful to watch) debate flub from Gov. Rick Perry.
Some gaffes are candid looks at the real character of the candidate, while other are simply a slip of the tongue, but regardless, both types go viral. ICT can help politicians get favorable news coverage or it can damage a career, either way, it has added a new wrinkle in the way the public consumes political news.
I'd like to finish this post with some of my favorite political gaffes: George W. Bush, Herman Cain, Joe Biden, George W. Bush (again), and lastly we have Joe Biden (again).
