"Commonsense conservative." Expect to hear more of that from us. The name of the game is perception management, and we have poll-tested the phrase and found that it reinforces the public's image of Big Daddy as a folksy smalltown redblooded American man. (And makes them not think of me as a DC insider and well-heeled lobbyist-lawyer.)
Our team sure is sharp, I have to say. When I heard about South Carolina moving up its primary date, I admit I lost my shit. But our team did this fantastic news release turning it into a positive -- into an opportunity to position ourselves again.
Check out this:“Changes to primary dates are only a problem for long-running candidates,” said Randy Enwright, national political director of the Thompson committee. “Large organizations with detailed political strategies that include roll out dates may find it more difficult to change their playbook mid-game."
That's right: we took press criticism of our slowness in making the campaign official and we turned it into a plus for us, comparing our nimble, roll-with-the-punches flexibility to the inflexibility of the campaigns that have been underway for so long. Being so slow to announce and to raise the kind of funds we need is actually an advantage.
Good lord, we can make chicken salad out of chicken shit.
