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HRC during the Dem primaries and the current state of the MPC
As most of you know, I was an HRC supporter. My primary vote was in mid-February, when there was still something of a dead heat.
As the months wore on, it became pretty obvious she was running a crappy campaign. Her message kept changing, she kept going negative, she had surrogates running wild putting their foots in their mouths left and right, Bill Clinton just generally being insane, a lot of switching around at higher levels of her campaign, cries of sexism etc. A lot of people saw her crying in NH as a gimmick or something to win pity, etc.
And a constant question asked by Obama supporters and Republicans here of me and the other HRC supporters was - "if she can't run a campaign, how can she run the country?"
It wasn't really something I ever really had a good answer to. While I liked her policies better, the messy state of her campaign would have caused me to do some thinking if my primary vote was late enough to witness the full extent of it.
I get the sense here that many conservatives on this board do not think McCain has run a good campaign, and in a lot of ways, it's very similar to HRC's (she was excellent training for Obama, I must say). Now, obviously this imaginary conflict is made easier because I was deciding between two very similar candidates. I don't expect McCain supporters to flock to Obama simply because of his mess of his campaign. But I guess my question is - do you think someone's inabilty to run a campaign is indicative of their ability to run the federal government? And does this affect your perception of a candidate? Do you think it will impact how independent, undecided voters react...like, do they really care if a candidate stays on message, has disciplined surrogates, etc?
Re: HRC during the Dem primaries and the current state of the MPC
do you think someone's inabilty to run a campaign is indicative of their ability to run the federal government? And does this affect your perception of a candidate?
No. If they run a great campaign they have the skill to be a campaign manager, not president. During a campaign the candidates (and we know this from past campaigns) make promises that they don't keep. Bush was not the great conservative he promised to be when he was campaigning. He was certainly not in favor of small gov't (well maybe he was but he certainly made the gov't bigger). They all make promises they don't keep when the going gets tough. Also, it's easy to say you'll be able to do x,y,and z but what will happen when you have to change your policy to deal with the other party? Or make tough decisions that might be unpopular? Being president is not just shaking hands and reading off of teleprompters. It's not criticizing your opponent or preaching to the choir. Campaigning is not a good test.
Do you think it will impact how independent, undecided voters react...like, do they really care if a candidate stays on message, has disciplined surrogates, etc?
I do think it has an impact but ultimately it comes down to the person.
I'm not a Rep, but...it's totally indicative of the way he'll run his office. Come on! A good leader inspires, motivates, and influences others to run the kind of campaign they would want. A good leader surrounds himself with the best minds. His staff is inneffective and he can't keep control of them; they clearly never bought in to the clean campaign he wanted to run. They've managed to influence him more than he has them.
Finally, he himself said to judge him by the way he runs his campaign.
Umm - I don't agree HRC ran a bad campaign just that Obama ran a better one. But I think Hillary would/will be a much better President than Obama if/when she has the chance.
A lot of the campaign is not by the politician themselves - I don't think McCain is running his campaign - I think he has a lot of people working for him and more importantly working for the party. Same for Obama. I think who is picked for VP and the overall tone, platforms are a good indicator but not the whole campaign.
Another example - I think W. ran a brillant campaign both elections but I think he was a horrible Pres.
I think how you run a campaign is about as indicative of your presidency as your grade on the SATs is to your college experience.
In school, I ran a great campaign on Civics Day to be library trustee. I lost to a girl far more popular than I who couldn't find a library if you handed her a map with a big X on it.
Adam & Shoshie 10-21-07: "My family is big and loud and everybody's in each other's lives and business. ... but wherever I go, they will always be there." * My Blog: Tales of a Hopeful Jewish Mom to Be *
But I guess my question is - do you think someone's inabilty to run a campaign is indicative of their ability to run the federal government?
I think Shoshie hit this one on the nose.
And does this affect your perception of a candidate?
It doesn't affect mine. I'm not sure it will affect anyone but independents paying close attention, but not close enough to look into policies. You know, the ones who vote on looks and perceptions they get from 30-minute news cycles.
Do you think it will impact how independent, undecided voters react...like, do they really care if a candidate stays on message, has disciplined surrogates, etc?
I think most people don't even know who their surrogates are, and probably don't know whether or not the VPs are staying on message with their presidential candidates. I think we think way too highly of most Americans, even those who say they care about the election. We are just too far in the weeds to appreciate their perspective.