As I write this week’s Frost Advisory the recount is still going on in Florida where I live.  Well, we have to be famous for something other than alligators, octogenerians, and college football.

We’re less bad than the other guys.

In the last presidential election I heard “Haven’t we taken this ‘anyone can grow up and be president thing too far?'”  Both major candidates had the lowest favorability ratings in history.

“I don’t like either one,” was a common refrain, “so I’m not going to vote.”

The party that can get their people to turn out is the party that wins. 

“The goal is to keep the opponent’s supporters from caring enough to vote.

If you’re tempted to not vote because of the vitriol or the imperfect nature of the choices, then you’re supporting a downward cycle, in which the candidate who best suppresses voter turnout of the opponent’s backers wins.

On the other hand, if you always vote for the least-bad option, then a forward cycle will kick in, in which candidates … will realize that always being a little less bad than the other guy is a winning strategy.”

Too many stations act like they are striving to be a little less bad than the other stations.   

I had one PD tell me the best he could hope for was “competent.”

“This radio station is literally built for mediocre results.  It’’ designed to give bad outcomes.  The system literally reinforces itself, so that good things don’t happen.  I run into at every turn.  From big-picture strategy down to levels in the automation software.  It’s designed for automation, it’s designed for no immediacy, it’s designed for generic.”

75% of your quarter horses will come from your fans.  Those are people who, hopefully, care enough to vote for you with their time, loyalty, and a donation.  You have to matter.

It’s not enough to simply be less bad than the other guys.