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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Desperate for attention

The McCain camp is clearly trying to steal some spotlight. They're airing a "direct response" ad to Obama's speech from McCain right before and after Obama's speech in some battleground states.

Frankly, that seems like a gamble to me. They don't know the Obama speech and if they hit the wrong tone it could backfire.

Maybe even more desperate, Drudge is rumoring that McCain might "leak" his VP at 6PM tonight. An effort to take focus, but doesn't it also diminish the attention on his announcement.

(If they do leak tonight, wouldn't this mean a surprise is more likely than a boring. And, we're calling it a "leak" and it's scheduled 6 o'clock?)

Also, I do think it's notable for the McCain camp's perception on the state of the race that they do appear to be gambling.

You don't resort to guerilla tactics if you think you're on the path to winning.

5 Comments:

  • I don't know. I can see it as desperation, but also as fundamental Rovian politics. Constant sniping, constant antagonizing, constant bitching and spot-light seeking. The politics of a thousand cuts rather than grand vision.

    I don't know. I can see it as desperation, but also as fundamental Rovian politics.

    By Blogger -epm, at 11:09 AM  

  • I get what you're saying, but, still, why gamble?

    Why take the risk of seeming negative against what could be a positive Obama speech? (Counterprogamming MLK?)

    Why spend your VP announcement when it's likely to get mostly drowned out?

    I definitely see the needling aspect of this, but it seems like they're risking alot to do it when their campaign is trying to spin that they're just barely behind.

    You don't use guerilla tactics if you think you're on a path to winning. You know?

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:22 AM  

  • I'm gonna add that last line to the post.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:22 AM  

  • I get what your saying, but I think of Bush/Cheney/Rove politics as being just that: guerilla tactics even when it's not "necessary." It's kill, kill, kill. You don't just win. You have to humiliate, (disparage, disrespect, demonize...) your opponent.

    You're probably right. I'm just sayin' is all.....

    By Blogger -epm, at 12:21 PM  

  • I get it, but the principle is to spend a little and get alot, and they're spending their VP announcement, a pretty big card.

    Okay, we disagree.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 2:45 PM  

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