Modeling Journey

George Lakoff is very specific about what to do and what not to do when your political opponent attacks you with an attempt to frame the discussion, or to frame the public perception of you.

And his advice is clear, commonsensical, and difficult to apply in some situations.

Michael Ignatieff has responded to the Tory framing ads (aka as 'attack ads') with a response which clearly shows that (1) he has not read Lakoff, (2) he does not understand the battle of framing, and (3) he is failing to respond properly to the Tory framing ads.

His response, in other words, plays into the trap set by the Tory ads, and allows them to continue to colour him their way.

Take these 'commandments' from George Lakoff, and compare the Ignatieff response to the Tory ads, and the Tory response to Ignatieff's response:

"In order to purposefully not think of an elephant, you have to think of an elephant. There are four morals.

Moral 1. Every word evokes a frame.

A frame is a conceptual structure used in thinking. The word elephant evokes a frame with an image of an elephant and certain knowledge: an elephant is a large animal (a mammal) with large floppy ears, a trunk that functions like both a nose and a hand, large stump-like legs, and so on.

Moral 2: Words defined within a frame evoke the frame.

The word trunk, as in the sentence "Sam picked up the peanut with his trunk," evokes the Elephant frame and suggests that "Sam" is the name of an elephant.
Moral 3: Negating a frame evokes the frame.

Moral 4: Evoking a frame reinforces that frame.

Every frame is realized in the brain by neural circuitry. Every time a neural circuit is activated, it is strengthened."

Ignatieff's response fits into the No-no of Morals 3 and 4: his response evokes the frame decided upon by the Tories (Ignatieff is a carpetbagger who was out of the country for years and years and only came back to become prime minister and who, if he failed, might leave Canada again), and reinforces that frame.

Ignatieff's response also gives the Tories another crack at spinning out the frame, as these responses show:

"The six TV ads the Conservatives are running across Canada paint Mr. Ignatieff as a pretentious political carpetbagger who returned home to satisfy political ambitions. One, called "Just Visiting" includes a clip of Mr. Ignatieff on U.S. TV referring to himself as an American.

Mr. Harper's press secretary, Dimitri Soudas, said last night the issue is not the years Mr. Ignatieff spent abroad, but that he came back only to try to become prime minister.

"Canadians who chose to work outside the country don't pretend that Canada is not their country," he said."

And this Tory response:

"Ryan Sparrow, a spokesperson for the Conservative party, said the Liberal leader is evading the point of their ads.

"The issue is not that Ignatieff worked outside the country," Sparrow said in an email. "The issue is that while outside the country he slammed Canada, Canadians and our flag - and perhaps most disturbingly - admitted that he would (again) leave Canada if unsuccessful in his political career. In other words, he's just visiting. Canadians should be able to expect more from their Prime Minister.""

The Tories are clearly winning this little spat, with significant negative consequences for Ignatieff and the Liberal Party.

The Cat's advice to Michael Ignatieff is short and simple: Get ahold of Lakoff's book Don’t Think Of An Elephant, and study it carefully.

Then order every Liberal MP to get a copy, and hold sessions (lead by Lakoff himself) to really really learn it.

Before it is too late and you become, in the minds of many Canadians, the itinerant carpetbagger that the Tories are framing you as.