Conspiracy Theories and Science Fiction

According to an article on the web site of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (seen via Orac):

Is Barack Obama a brilliant orator, captivating millions through his eloquence? Or is he deliberately using the techniques of neurolinguistic programming (NLP), a covert form of hypnosis developed by Milton Erickson, M.D.?

Wasn't that a story by Charles Sheffield “What Song the Sirens Sang”? In the story, a hack politician discovers to secret to hypnotizing voters.

By strange coincidence, the story was set in Georgia and a few months after it was written Jimmy Carter was elected for no clear reason. Wait a moment, it's starting to make a little more sense now …