Sarah Palin can turn a phrase. Hers is not the style of Churchill or JFK; in fact, it's quite the opposite. And that's the point. Once we thought of political oratory as speech used to build community, unite people, and inflate the spirit, as in "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Instead, Palin has shown us how it can be used to deflate if not the spirit, then at least the opponent. "How's that hopey, changey stuff working out for ya?" she asks, and in no time the line is on Twitter, the clip on YouTube, and Zazzle.com is selling it on bumper stickers.

In the age of social networks, content evolves hand-in-hand with the mode of dissemination. What matters is pass-along potential, and nothing gets passed along like humor, particularly sarcasm or the thrill of the 'gotcha' moment. Sound bites have always been part of political communication, but decisions about which bites to air used to be in the hands of at least half-way responsible and accountable editors.

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Publication/Copyright: Harvard Business Review