-
sponsorship
Armed with charts, big ears, and a voodoo stick, Ross Perot found a way to persuade 16.5 million people in 1992 to watch his 30-minute infomercials that warned the economy was in danger of collapsing.
Armed with a giant name plate, bushy eyebrows, and 18 million fourth-quarter dollars, Ron Paul is trying to persuade a few thousand extra Iowans to watch his own 30-minute infomercials over the Christmas break.
The symmetry is too ripe to ignore. Perot's infomercials helped build his brand while also generating buzz around his campaign. Paul already found a way to do that without the help of must-see TV, and now he's trying to make progress among early state voters.
None of Paul's half-hour spots (see Part 1; Part 2) is new to ardent Paul supporters. It covers the normal Paul points: The dollar is falling, immigration is ruining the economy, and the government is an obese bureaucracy that needs some liposuction. But it may make Paul seem more approachable for the uninitiated—a base that the Paul campaign desperately needs if it wants to start generating traction in the polls again.
But what if Paul can't convince voters by Feb. 6? By then the majority of states will have voted, but there will still be nine months until the general election. After Paul's record-setting fund-raising haul yesterday, even the political elite can't help but admit that he's tapped into a rich vein of the Republican Party. And there's more money where those donations came from—the 63,000 people who have given to Paul this week donated an average of about $100 each. So why not run as a third-party candidate to keep mining those resources past the primary?
Paul has all of the ingredients of a tasty third-party run: pounds of money, a dash of organization, and a well-stocked cabinet of supporters. Now the main issue is finding enough time to let those ingredients bake in the political oven.
Nine months is a lot of extra time for Paul to talk with voters and convince them that his platform is demonstrably different than the mainstream parties'. If the economy tanks, Iraq gets worse, and the Republican nominee isn't a hawk on immigration (e.g. Huckabee or McCain), then Paul's platform could resonate with voters nationwide. Plus, a general election helps Paul circumvent stalled momentum in the early primary states.
Paul has said he won't run as a third-party candidate. But Perot already made some of the inroads for him back in 1992. And not just on TV.
-
sponsorship
Ron Paul supporters, sometimes referred to as Paulites or,
less endearingly, Paultards, are known for their prolific blog comments. (Conservative
blog RedState practically ignited the aPaulcalypse by banning them from its
boards.) Here’s one comment about the Ron Paul blimp spotted on the Daily Paul:
I pledged... we are SO close.... WE (grassroots) make
IMPOSSIBLE things happen.... talk about bypassing the media blackout!!!!!
I'm in for the Teaparty as well.
I explained to my family..... that THIS Christmas is NOT
about presents under the tree (well maybe a few!).
This Christmas ............is about taking back our Country
and watching/laughing at the media trying to ignore the elephant in the room! [Emphasis added]
So this person gave to the Ron Paul blimp instead of his own children. First they want to abolish the postal service ... now Christmas???
-
sponsorship
According to Mike Huckabee's new ad, Christmas is a time to set aside all the political rhetoric and focus on "what really matters," i.e., "the celebration of the birth of Christ." You'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more potent piece of political rhetoric.
Huckabee, clad in a Rudolph-red sweater and standing in front of a lit Christmas tree, says he knows you're "worn out of all the television commercials you've been seeing," and that it's time to "pull aside from all that." It's a simple, nonpartisan message that will resonate with all Americans, or at least all Americans who matter to Mike Huckabee in Iowa: Merry Christmas. Because on Jan. 3, he's hoping for a lot more than 10 lords a-leaping.
The best part is he's looking into the camera for the full 30 seconds, giving you plenty of time to decide whether his right eye is wandering or just slightly larger than the other.
This seems like a good time to credit Mitt Romney for his diligent observance of the Jewish holidays. We've seen press releases on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. But why no menorah-lighting ceremony?
UPDATE 6:12 p.m.: A reader/friend (really, what's the difference?) sent this along under the subject line, "You are a gentile.":
1) Every observant Jew knows that Hannukah is totally a minor holiday.
Plus, the Jewish communities in the early states aren't big enough to
matter.
2) Tu'Bshvat--
the festival of trees--is
January 22, a couple weeks before the mega-Jew communities of New
Jersey, Illinois, New York, Florida, and California vote. If Romney
celebrates that he'll get major street cred.
3) You light a Hannukiah, not a
Menorah.Menorahs can last only 7 nights--you need a special candelabra to celebrate the miracle.
I hereby cede all future Romney/Judaism items to our mensch-in-residence, Chad Matlin.
-
sponsorship
The recommendations are coming so fast, it’s getting a little hard to keep track. Here’s the latest batch from over the weekend.
Des Moines Register: Hillary Clinton and John McCain
Much-coveted endorsement. Boosts Hillary’s inevitability argument in Iowa, just as Obama was starting to crack it. Obama camp claims it will swing Edwards supporters over to him; Edwards’ people think it will do just the opposite. For McCain, unlikely to change much; New Hampshire is still his firewall, albeit a small one. See freakishly close analysis here.
Boston Globe: Barack Obama and John McCain
Could help both in New Hampshire. (That is, if anyone reads it.) Dems trust the Globe, while independents will see that McCain appeals to more than just the Union Leader.
Sen. Joe Lieberman: John McCain
Support could be a major symbol for New Hampshire independents, who make up 40 percent of the state’s voters. Of course, Lieberman netted only about 9 percent of the vote in 2004. Not exactly a kingmaker. On the plus side, McCain already nabbed conservative Union Leader-Globe, plus Lieberman means McCain has right, left, and center covered.
Iowa Rep. Steve King: Fred Thompson
Thompson needs this. King endorsement was coveted by Republicans. Huckabee got Jim Gilchrist last week—another prominent conservative and the bell would be tolling for Fred. He still polls fourth in Iowa.
It's a good day to be John McCain—assuming voters care what the Register, the Globe, and Lieberman think. The problem, though, is that these recs aren't really based on the candidates' electability. When a congressman endorses a candidate, it's not just because he likes him—it's because he likes him and thinks he can get elected. (Joe Lieberman, mind you, is a special case. He's too far right to side with Hillary but not far enough to support a Republican like Romney.) But newspapers usually endorse based on ideals and policies alone. They don't care how slim McCain's chances are. Maybe that's why the Register hasn't endorsed a winner since 1980. So in that sense, you have to take these recs with a grain of salt.
UPDATE 3:52 p.m.: That was fast. A new Hillary ad features the Register endorsement.
-
sponsorship
At his anticipated "Tested. Ready. Now" speech in Tampa on Saturday, Rudy Giuliani offered a
refrain practically lifted from Larry
the Cable Guy:
We’re at war. The American people want to see victory in Iraq and Afghanistan, not humiliation and
defeat. They want their children to live free from the fear of Islamic
terrorism. They’re telling us: Get it
done. And we will.
He repeats that phrase three more times. A last minute pander
to the NASCAR vote?
-
sponsorship
Alongside the campaign to elect Hillary Clinton president, there's been a sub-campaign to convince America that Hillary Clinton feels feelings. On the whole, it seems to be working: One of the tropes of the race so far has been voters’ surprise when they discover she’s not a pant-suited ice robot.
The latest effort in the emotion primary is a new video site, TheHillaryIKnow.com, launched today. The site collects testimonials from friends and colleagues who have seen the real Hillary and can testify to its existence. It includes bigwigs like Wesley Clark and Tom Vilsack, alongside old friends, plus a few everyday people Hillary has helped along the way.
Personal testimonies are nothing new for campaigns. It's only when you look at what they say over and over that you start to get the Message:
Geraldine Ferraro: “… very articulate, wonderful, warm mother …”
Patty Criner: “ … exceptional … bright … capable … makes you laugh … so engaging and enthusiastic to be with … very sentimental … very old fashioned.”
HT Moore: “Very, very active in the church … Grew up in strong faith.”
Kaki Hockersmith: “Very thoughtful ... it’s not about Hillary; it’s about you … good sense of humor … loves to cut up and clown around.”
Betsy Ebeling: “She hears people. … understands the importance of friendship … we can finish each other’s sentences.”
Maria Echaveste: “funny, warm, genuinely caring person … enjoys a good joke … enjoys hanging out and just kicking back and talking about what's going on in the world … a really fun person.”
Together, they present a compelling case for Hillary’s humanity. Still, it’s hard not to think that they all protest too much. Can you imagine a similar set of testimonials for Rudy Giuliani? For Mike Huckabee? Everyone already knows they’re real people. The fact that Hillary needs to have a few dozen friends bear witness to her normality only circles the problem in big green highlighter.