the scarcity theory of attentional politics

In many ways, Georgia Senator JON OSSOFF was not made for the attention economy.

In an era that runs on 30-second vertical videos, Ossoff is, literally, a documentary filmmaker.

Rather than using congressional hearings for partisan theater and content creation, he conducts bipartisan fact-finding missions and produces exhaustive reports. 

He is not a regular on the podcast circuit. He does not enter discourse via publicity stunt or social media clapback – often goes weeks without tweeting at all.

And then, once every few months, he delivers a showstopping speech that breaks through massively.

(The documentaries, the bipartisan investigations, the splashy speeches – they all hinge on the same thing: exposing corruption.)

Ossoff kicked off his reelection last March at a rally of 2,000+ in Atlanta, with several clips going viral as he channeled the raucous crowd’s DOGEmatic fury into poetic resolve. He did it again in Savannah in July, right after Rs passed their Big, Beautiful Bill. And his banger speech last weekend exploded Democratic group chats with sudden 2028 hopecasting.

Highlights from Ossoff’s remarks played alongside laudatory commentary on the left’s most influential platforms, running the gamut from The Bulwark Podcast (ex-GOPers) to Pod Save America (Obama Dems) to The Majority Report (left-wing populists). And TV too: “That’s a political athlete right there,” declared Joe Scarborough in a glowing 15-minute Morning Joe segment.

And I assure you, the text threads are even flusher with Ossoff fever – and not just cuz he’s bench pressed his way from Georgetown-a capella-twink cute to are-we-sure-he’s-a-Democrat? sexy. The people are gushing over his perfectly constructed jawapplause lines; his muscular defense of democracy.

Rather than dissecting the speech, I’ll point you to Dan Pfeiffer’s excellent 1500-word breakdown of all the reasons every Dem should be taking notes.

What I find most interesting about Ossoff’s playbook is that it runs directly counter to the now-conventional wisdom (which I’ve echoed and largely still endorse) that to succeed in modern elections, you must have an Everything, Everywhere All At Once media strategy. 

Call it the scarcity theory of attentional politics: When everyone is overexposed, intentional restraint can increase your capacity to deliver true breakthrough moments. Beyond imbuing your voice with newness and import, it allows your team to lay groundwork – to brief press and influencers, line up validators and supporters, build a big crowd and telegenic event, etc.

AOC has similarly leveraged scarcity. After dazzling on Bernie’s Fighting Oligarchy tour in early 2025, she retreated from the spotlight for months, carefully picking spots to step back in. When she did – for example, to rally support for last year’s health care-centric gov’t shutdown – her words carried a ton of weight, and she was widely praised as an elite Dem messenger.

OK, perhaps one takeaway from Ossoff and AOC’s resonance is that – in a Washington teeming with crooked geriatrics – being a hot, charismatic 30something with moral clarity really plays.

And honestly, I shouldn’t undersell that part; Mamdani also thrived on those macros, and that dude was omnipresent… like, you’d fire up a VHS with your old home videos, and somehow Big Z was popping up in them vowing to freeze the rent, David Blaine Street Magic style.

But you can also see the value of scarcity – not in lieu of attention, but as a means to achieve it more efficiently; a hack to circumnavigate the Authenticity-Attention Paradox. 

I still think that lends itself to a true outsider in 2028 – a high-profile non-politician or insurgent on nobody’s radar. But maybe there’s a world where a workmanlike senator or governor outlasts all the clout goblins and breaks through with a compelling narrative and a few timely moments.

Jon Ossoff is not built to hijack culture, or dunk on rando internet MAGAs, or do viral short-form video gimmicks. He is a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington guy in a MrBeast world. Perhaps that dissonance will get your attention, after all.

A slew of top Dems are at the Munich Security Conference, road-testing their leadership skills and visions for America on the global stage, amid tectonic shifts in transatlantic relations. All eyes will be on ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, who has fewer traditional NatSec bona fides than her fellow travelers and the most to gain, as she prepares to pitch a progressive foreign policy that centers the working class and takes aim at oligarchy & corruption.

Here are all the sessions featuring potential 2028 Dems (some of which are sadly happening as I publish this):

MARK KELLY & ELISSA SLOTKIN held a presser and have been making the media rounds after the shocking but unsurprising revelation that Trump’s DOJ had sought – and failed to secure – a grand jury indictment of the six members of Congress who recorded a video urging servicemembers to refuse illegal orders. 

Amid rumors that prosecutors will take another shot at the Kremlineqsue indictment, SLOTKIN is demanding that DOJ confirm the investigation into her has ended by COB today. Rep. JASON CROW (D-CO) – a Bronze Star recipient and fellow 2028 dark horse who participated in the video – warned US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro to preserve all documents related to the failed indictment. 

And KELLY scored a separate court victory as a Bush-appointed federal judge issued a scathing opinion blocking Dept. of War Content Chief Pete Hegseth’s efforts to punish him. The great Trump-pumping continues; at this rate, the Statue of Liberty herself is gonna endorse Mark Kelly for president in a joint fundraising email with Lisa Murkowski, the ghost of John McCain, and an F-35 fighter jet.

Here’s a 2003 Harvard Crimson profile of RUBEN GALLEGO with an amazing pic (below) of him and college sweetheart / ex-wife Kate. And a 2001 feature by now-bestselling journalist Garrett Graff. And a 2004 column by Gallego tearing into Ann Coulter. We love a well-maintained and searchable archive!