Shoot first, spin later

Newsweek reports that Hamas is already putting to use the lessons learned from spinmeister Nashat Aqtash:

The radicals are learning how to massage their message. Nashat Aqtash, a communications professor at Birzeit University on the West Bank, has been tutoring Hamas candidates on the language of modern politics. He says he learned one of his most valuable lessons from watching Bush's spin doctors: replace hot-button words with polite equivalents. "We don't need to 'kill people'," he says. "We need to 'remove occupation.' Both are the same, but the meaning is totally different." And aim your pitch to attract swing voters. "People tackling social issues get higher votes," he says. "When you kill, don't say you're going to do it. Just do it. And then say you're sorry."

Posted at 04:19 PM