"The Only Real Mystery in the American Presidential Campaign Is Who’s Going to Win. Otherwise, the Whole Campaign Makes for a Great Fish Story"

In the tumultuous wake of the GOP Convention in America and the startling veep candidate selection that could put the likes of Alaska’s No. 1 hockey mom within one aging heartbeat of the so-called “most powerful job in the world,” we’ve had more than one of our readers remark among the lines of this Colorado non-hockey-mom: “I honestly can't still understand how they [the Republicans] get away with so much. I think I spent most of the night [watching Gov. Palin speak and the run-up activities] just shaking my head at the bravado and BS.”

But then, as we reminded this concerned Colorado mother and community organizer, who was an Obama supporter at the Democratic convention, she really shouldn’t have been surprised at either the behaviors or content of the GOP Convention (or the Democratic Convention either, for that matter) or a lot of the other developments in this showcase of political marathons. Much of the story line is actually as predictable as hurricanes in warm summer waters.

That's because one of the most real things in the world is the way nature works. And people are part of nature. And people’s beliefs are a part of nature. And people’s beliefs, especially in the aggregate, are hugely more predicable than most people believe.

In terms of the Yo!Dolphin! Worldview Survey™ model, which we at Brain Technologies believe to have few peers in its ability to explain “the inner ecology” of people, the dynamics driving the Republican Party and the McCain campaign’s strategy can be explained quite simply as shark belief users skillfully manipulating Carp belief users.

In an as yet unreleased book, my colleague, Paul Kordis, and I have prepared extensive descriptions of the American Carp belief structure’s internal dialogue—the one that the user of this worldview turns to, moment by moment, day in and day out, to explain the world to her/himself. Here’s some of that self-referential inner American Carp dialogue from our unpublished work:

“I don’t go in for a lot of highfalutin talk about airy-fairy social causes or the like. I simply do my share to eradicate the obvious evils that are plaguing our families, our jobs, our schools and our neighborhoods.

“I am against abortion, homosexuality, premarital sex, atheism, high-and-mighty science and the separation of church and state.

“I think our religious values should be taught in school and kids should be made to behave accordingly. I think that criminals should be afraid of the law and that harsh punishment is the only deterrent to crime.

“I’m not afraid of laws that invade people’s privacy because I have nothing to hide and these laws keep me safe from people who do. I think sex offenders are the worst people in the world and that more people than you could imagine worship Satan in secret and that these people all too often infiltrate every level of the secular world to spread their poison. The media is especially in the hands of bleeding liberals and hardened atheists. The minds of our children are being turned against us and it is our responsibility to do what it takes to keep them in line and on the right path, even if we have to administer harsh punishment.

“I also believe that the poor and the outcast have become so because of their impurity, non-belief and unrighteousness. Their sin has driven them from the creator and their earthly pain is the result, plain and simple. Therefore, those who have achieved authority, power and success are examples of the divine favor due to those who have kept the word of the prophets and followed the path outlines in our holy texts. They are just in their judgment of others, as am I. We are the righteous and the pious and have every right to incriminate against the sinner. We all have our place in creation; we should follow the commands of those above us and those beneath us should likewise follow our direction and moral authority.

“In the same sense my country is favored by the Almighty and is fated to reign supreme among the other nations. Our wars are pure and right, our forms of government and economic activity are by far the best in the world. We have discovered the true path in all things and other nations must be made to be like us if they are to avoid our wrath and the just punishment for their transgressions. There are many enemies in the world who hate us and envy our righteousness, our freedom and our possessions. But our leaders will crush them and our military power, therefore, must be unequaled. There are also many among us who would destroy us from within. Therefore, our national and local authorities will root them out and punish them and thwart them from their evil plans. And if this means that we must give up some of our liberties then the price is worth it. Our security is more important than our freedom and our obedience is more important than our dissent.

“Evil will continue to threaten our faith and our existence until the Almighty reappears, along with the holy prophets and the departed faithful, and takes the throne of this world, destroying the parasites among us and establishing the kingdom of righteousness on earth. Until that time our war against evil is perpetual and is our destiny and our responsibility. We cannot relent and we cannot compromise but must stand firm in our might and our principles, among which are our faith not only in spiritual matters but in governmental and economic matters as well.

“I don’t know a lot about the big dealings going on with money. I just know that we have a right to prosperity because it is our due as a loyal, hard working and law-abiding people. Besides, this country should be built on trade, on people buying things from each other and making the nation strong and prosperous. The most worthy are the most successful, and I aim to be one of those people some day, so it doesn’t hurt if I buy myself and my family a few things now and then. We deserve a piece of the good life this country has to offer and if I have to borrow a few dollars I know that I can trust those who lend money to me to handle all of the details. I pay my bills and I know that providence will provide if I live a good life.

“If we choose people in authority who support our beliefs and values then it will benefit us all and makes all of us prosperous. Those are well off buy the things that the rest of us provide and eventually we all benefit. Without them, we wouldn’t have jobs or the other good things in life. Therefore, we should praise their success and do what we can to contribute to it. Prosperity flows from our way of life to everyone’s benefit and must not be hindered. The only people who really suffer are the leaches who don’t want to take personal responsibility.

“In the same sense our environment is given to us to use as we wish to establish our dominion over it and to mine its riches as the reward for our virtue and our obedience. Creation is abundant and we cannot begin to take away from what has been provided for us. But, if the unrighteous and unbelievers possess lands and resources that are valuable to us then it is our duty to use them for our own purposes, for the sake of our government, our economy and our faith.”

You can feel the fear and resentment of the Carp worldview user throughout this description, and it is the American Carp worldview user’s fear and resentment that the American Shark worldview users are so skillfully manipulating—again!—in the 2008 American Presidential election.

What’s the antidote for those who seek a saner, more factually based, more humane and more hopeful, more competent and most complex America?

The political strategists on both sides of the great voter divide have it right. The battle is one of the diehard Carp and Shark worldview users versus all the rest. Can enough votes from gradually awakening Carp users and disaffected and concerned Shark users be combined with the First Dolphin, Prime Dolphin and Deep See-Change Dolphin worldview users' votes to win the day on November 5 in the quest for control of the American Electoral College?

This time around, our prognosticative skills are no better than anyone else’s. Our prediction is either Obama or McCain by a hair. It makes for fascinating political theater. If only the outcome were not so important, for America and the remainder of the world.