RNC Hispanic Outreach Guy: Romney's Still "Deciding" His Immigration Policy

Instapundit talks about a certain kind of psychological trick the mind plays on you.

If you know anything about a subject matter, when you read the media's reportage of that subject matter, you will constantly see errors, childish oversimplifications, and sheer hackery. You will realize the media simply doesn't know what the hell it's talking about, at least as regards the subject matter you know a lot about.

But then you will turn the page and read the media writing about other subject matters, and kinda-sorta completely forget that you already know they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

There's a similar psychological thing that happens in politics.

How many people do you know that are actually good at their jobs? Mentally divide everyone you know into "outright incompetent," "semi-competent," "competent but limited and just hanging on," "actually completely competent" and "very competent."

What percentage of the people you work with (or hear about from others) are in the last two categories? 40%? 50%, if you're lucky?

And yet when a mid-level RNC diversity hack says something like this:

RNC National Hispanic Outreach Director on Romney just now: "He's still deciding what his position on immigration is."

...most of us spring to the notion This guy must know his onions; he must know Romney's mind intimately; he is probably in frequent communication with Romney and well-informed about what he's saying; he's also probably a highly-disciplined man, who speaks only when he knows the confirmed truth of the matter, and does not just sort of talk just to hear himself talk.

Why would we assume that? Of what percentage of the working population, in your experience, would those things be true of?

Again: What, 40%? Maybe 50% if you're in a very well-run organization?

This guy has probably spoken to Romney three times in the past year, never alone, and never for any lengthy period of time. He is not a close adviser. He's a mid-level PR guy in an affiliated organization (the RNC).

Let's not assume he's doing anything except what he thinks his job is supposed to be, "outreach" to Hispanics, and let's not assume he's doing it competently.

If half or more of the people you work with aren't very good at their jobs, it makes no sense to assume that someone in the oddball, sketchy job of political flacking is good at his.

Maybe he is.

But then again, maybe he was doing what most people do: Running their mouths without any idea what they're talking about.

posted by Ace at 12:48 PM

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