Long discredited as a campaign practice, the brandishing of the pointy finger has returned to the stump speech. Maverick VP contender Sarah Palin often uses the demeaning and scornful index finger wave to prove herself "on top of the issues" and demean her opponents as "just plain wrong". Not since the days of the televised Kennedy-Nixon debates have audiences seen so much index finger waving. The impact of focus groups and spin doctors created an environment of caution around the practice. The average voter responding to images of politicians waving a pointy finger claimed they felt "talked down to" and "shamed".
As a result, politicians took to the Thumb Jab for emphasis in their speeches. By making a fist and pointing outward with the thumb, speechmakers found it was a less threatening, albeit less clear, gesture.
But no more. The gloves are off and voters should prepare themselves for an ongoing election campaign that is more akin to a lecture from the iconoclastic Schoolmarm of Anchorage.
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