Archive for September 2008
Campaign Life
Barlow Herget of State Government Radio asked me a question that reminded me of what I’m missing this time of year: “What’s happening inside a statewide campaign now?” Unfortunately, polisci students, campaigns right now are not just about strategy, media and organization. They’re also doing a lot of math: Fundraising: How much money is in…
Read MoreRemain Calm, Democrats
Democrats are in their quadrennial panic. If self-flagellation were an Olympic event, we’d win the gold every four years. Yes, McCain’s pick of Palin changed the race. Yes, Obama needs to hit harder. Yes, Joe Biden’s right: Hillary would have been a better running mate. Even Tom Friedman is calling Obama a wuss, for Pete’s…
Read MoreLieutenant Governor Syndrome
Jim Hunt was the last lieutenant governor elected governor. Thirty-six years ago. And Hunt had the advantage of being No. 2 under a Republican governor, so he could run against the Ins. Since then, lieutenant governors have not fared so well: Jimmy Green, Bob Jordan, Jim Gardner and Dennis Wicker (my friend and client). Now…
Read MoreClarifying One Thing
This morning in the newspaper John McCain ripped into Barack Obama, saying Obama supported “legislation ensuring ‘comprehensive sex education’ for kindergartners.” Sounds like Obama passed a bill to give kindergartners a manual on how to have safe sex, but, in fact, the kind of sex education Obama was proposing – in that bill – was…
Read MorePerdue in Peril?
It’s a sure sign of an anxious campaign when the manager releases internal polls. That’s what Zach Ambrose had to do this week for Bev Perdue after a WTVD poll showed her trailing. That came on the heels of the Carville-Greenberg poll. Perdue’s campaign released a memo from Garin-Hart-Yang, the campaign’s pollsters, showing Perdue ahead…
Read MoreEnquiring Minds Want to Know
Sarah Palin will either lift John McCain to the White House or sink him. She’s taking a star turn now. But one thing never changes in politics: Change comes. Word now is that the National Enquirer has reassigned its “John Edwards Team” to Alaska. Give them a week. Then check the lipstick, mascara and blush…
Read MoreBridging Palin
My friend – and Internet guru – Mathew Gross has a great line for the Obama campaign: Sarah Palin didn’t just support the Bridge to Nowhere. She is the Bridge to Nowhere. Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Read MoreThe Stealth Candidate
What happens if a candidate turns out to be so bad at being a candidate his campaign doesn’t dare let him loose on the public – say, because every time he opens his mouth the campaign totters on the brink of destruction? The solution: A Stealth Candidate. It’s an old tried and true formula. Sixteen…
Read MoreAttack Palin
The Obama campaign has to attack Sarah Palin. She has turned the race around for McCain. Democrats must turn her into a negative for him. They may be reluctant to attack a woman. But the DSCC got over that with Liddy Dole. One poll shows that white women went from being slightly for Obama before…
Read MoreStarting Worse and Going Downhill
I watched the first thirty minutes of the Perdue vs. McCrory debate. The “Thriller from Manila” it was not. About the time I was ready to doze off, McCrory, self-righteously praising himself, said, ‘I have never run a negative ad.’ That woke me up. I hate it when a candidate does that. Doesn’t McCrory believe…
Read More