Machine Rules: A Political Primer by Stephen Loosley

Author:Stephen Loosley [Loosley, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Politics
ISBN: 9781459697126
Google: uqAejgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 33160418
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant
Published: 2015-08-03T00:00:00+00:00

16

Jimmy Carter’s Cold Shower

During the 1980 US presidential election campaign, the challenger, former California governor Ronald Reagan, delivered a knockout blow to the incumbent’s credibility. President Jimmy Carter had claimed to enjoy a cold shower every morning before commencing work. Reagan responded, ‘Any man who tells you that he enjoys a cold shower first thing in the morning will lie about other things’.

It was a devastating line and Carter’s credibility was punctured. Carter may not have been lying, but to a great many Americans he seemed to be drawing a long bow in claiming his affection for a cold shower.

Lying in politics is not only wrong, it corrodes political values and inevitably leads to ruin. Liars get found out. If the opposing side does not stumble upon the falsehoods, then often supporters or colleagues, those who are vying for their own advancement or those who are just plain appalled by the currency of lying, will ensure that the lie is made public. As crime writer Raymond Chandler famously observed: ‘There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself’.

In the event of a controversy or scandal, the alternative to lying is actually quite simple. Wherever possible, the best course of action is to admit the error, apologise, and take corrective action. It’s then possible to change course. What is not possible is for your opponents to attack you, not once you’ve admitted that you are responsible for the error, that you have apologised to all concerned, and that action has been taken to deal with the consequences.

During the Harris-Daishowa affair of the late 1980s, in which an administrative error in the NSW ALP office in Sussex Street had led to a campaign contribution from a timber mill owner being placed in the wrong file, this is exactly the strategy that I followed.

The campaign account should have received a cheque. Instead, it had inadvertently been placed in the administrative account (in those times, it was necessary only to declare campaign contributions). When the error was discovered, I mused over what to do. After taking counsel, I called a press conference and also rang Laurie Oakes in Canberra. As the cheque had come via a federal minister, Mick Young, there was intense interest in Canberra in the controversy. A state ment was distributed to the assembled press in which I outlined precisely what had occurred; accepted responsibility as the general secretary, blaming no-one else; and then apologised.

The press conference lasted approximately half an hour. The questions were tough but generally fair. Still, I thought that the next day’s media coverage would be very hard to read. Surprisingly, it was not! The media accepted my account of an honest mistake, which it was. And the political opponents dropped off.

This was not only the right strategy to pursue, it was politically the most sensible course of action. Where people try and tough it out, the controversy frequently becomes worse and worse.

A friend of mine in the British Labour Party in the House of Commons puts it in these terms.

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