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Incongruency in Action: Larry Craig

By: Kenrick Cleveland

'The Usual Suspects', a movie from 1995, had a really interesting interrogation scene.

The detective says, "The first thing I learned on the job, know what it was? How to spot a murderer. Let's say you arrest three guys for the same killing. Put them all in jail overnight. The next morning, whoever is sleeping is your man. If you're guilty, you know you're caught, you get some rest - let your guard down, you follow?"

When Larry Craig's "difficulties" came out recently, it reminded me of that scene.

Republican senator Craig was arrested June 11th at the Minneapolis airport (just in case you haven't heard) for lewd conduct.

Craig pled guilty to a misdemeanor on August 8th after paying $500 in fines.

A spokesman for Craig said later that it was a "misunderstanding".

And yet, he pled guilty.

Craig later said, "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Here's where the incongruity comes in:

1. If you're wrongly accused of a crime, you don't plead guilty. You just don't. You put up a fight. (This isn't to say that criminals don't use the same strategy, but especially if you're innocent, you don't plead guilty.)

2. He didn't call an attorney. This is always the first thing one does - whether guilty or innocent - when dealing with law enforcement. What's the "quickest and most expeditious" way to handle a legal matter? Get some representation. Attorneys are like dentists... we don't really want to deal with them until we REALLY need them, but still... this is a "really need them" situation.

3. By saying, "I am not gay - nor have I ever been gay," he believes that it is possible to be gay, say six months ago, then become ungay, say last week. This points towards a "waffling" and cover up.

Lastly, but maybe the most incongruous of all:

4. He didn't go home and tell his wife about the incident. If something as outrageous as this happened to any one of us and had absolutely no basis in truth, wouldn't we all go home to our spouses (or families or friends) and say, "You're not going to believe what happened to me today. It's the most absurd thing..."

Senator Craig has come up with a scapegoat in the form of "the media".

It's all because of the Idaho Statesman. They've been "relentlessly and viciously" harassing him.

Well, I'm a big fan of blaming the media. They're seldom right and never in doubt. Somehow, Mr. Craig's history of this sort of activity, makes the blaming of the media seem false.

Now look at this situation in terms of persuasion: Whether the allegations are true or false, how would you have framed the story under these circumstances?

Did his incongruity give him away? And what can he do to unframe himself?

Article Source: Main Articles

Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.

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