Playing to win

George Lakoff, of UC Berkeley, has written a number of books. The books are about choosing words and their meaning so that your side wins.

For instance, he told the Democrats that trying to win an argument against the Republicans on national security by using Republican terms and meanings was a losing battle. The Republicans knew how to win this fight better than the Democrats did. He suggested that the Democrats had to stay on message and use terms that were not Republican terms.

The apparent application to here is to stop talking to DOE, Congress, etc. about 'safety,' 'security,' 'pensions,' and 'entitlements' and go back to talking in different terms such as 'national security,' 'economic prosperity,' and 'long term national interest.'

Basically, this approach says to change the verbal game so that your side wins.