Talk:Shrum, Devine & Donilon

The following comments by anon IP 24.126.150.54 have been moved from the article to this talk page:

Things are NOT going so well.

This is your campaign to lose. Normally these elections are referendums on incumbents but since Bush has such a dismal performance to defend, the Republicans will do whatever they can to focus attention on you.

And they are doing it well. You are losing this campaign. And continuing this way, Republicans will be gloating how they elected a guy who is a complete and utter screw up, who did nothing for the country but make the well heeled even more well heeled. Make no mistake, they are running a far better campaign than you guys are. This is shameful! You guys with all that the infinite wisdom and smug strategy CAN'T even beat a lightweight.

You guys are not in control of the agenda. Your campaign is reacting to the RNC which is setting the agenda. I mean come on! The guy has no record to stand on so what do you think he is going to do? This is Al Gore all over again. Btw, you might want to get Donna Brazille off the air at CNN--she is woefully inarticulate and she ran the second worst campaign in recent history, usurped only by the Susan Estrich Dukakis debacle. She does not serve you well. Time to get the "A" team together and get the "A" game on.

Some thoughts:

1. Be prepared to go for the jugular. Anticipate attack ads and have responses ready (or near ready so just the final edit needs to happen to final tune the message). Your media people (I'm assuming the well heeled Bob Shrum organization) are doing you NO favors at all. Make them start to earn those fat media buy commissions. Thus far, you guys rate an "F". I know it is unfair to judge a campaign this early but I'm going by my gut--you're losing the debate and ultimately the election. You have been badly advised and unfortunately strong attacks now will only open you up to charges of desperation--after all you ARE losing. Anticipate the attack and have an ad ready to go. I mean in the can, ready to air.

2. Respond to attacks in kind. The credibility of the Swift Boat vets should have been challenged IMMEDIATELY, not two weeks later. Identify the ads. Identify the players. Go after them. Point out inconsistencies in their testimony or statements compared to any previous comments. People who behave badly need to be called on it. So if they are liars, call them such.

And then, for the hell of it, go after the major miscreants for libel/slander.

3. Make Iraq the issue it deserves to be. Articulate a comprehensible position on Iraq. So far, your qualifications and nuances suck. They are incomprehensible to the average voter. And you stepped into a trap. Your non-response to the Swift Boat fiasco was a colossal blunder perhaps only superceded by that pathetic response to how you would have voted on Iraq if you know then what you know now. I'm sure you folks debated long and hard but well, you got it wrong! Your answer was nit what people want to hear. Any November post mortem might want to begin here... Stop being a wimp. And stop trying to please everyone with these nuanced answers. Remember: many of your advisors come from Ted Kennedy and I don't recall a national election that he won. So get your shit together and have the balls to say no to some of these self serving SOBS who claim to know everything but know as little as you or I do.

4. Start exposing Bush and Cheney flip flops, starting with the war on terror is not winnable, is winnable etc. Go after Bush for his steel tariffs, focussing on the shifting position and not the industry itself. Or his flip flop on the 9/11 commission. And go after Cheney for his hypocrisy and his own record as Sec of Defense. You might want to go look at his Congressional Record as well. Pulverize him with it. Anyone who suggests you should take the high road needs to be fired immediately because they are clueless about who their opponents are and the depths to which they will descend in order to win this election.

5. In his speech, Clinton spelled it out but you guys weren't listening. This morning (Friday Sept 3) I actually heard you quote Clinton and yes this is a good approach. KEEP DOING IT!

During and after the convention, my guess is your campaign staff was thinking about the inauguration. So here's the wake up call: the Republicans have demonstrated that they are far better at this than your team. The Republicans are the NY Yankees. You are the Milwaukee Brewers. Recognize the fact that you are probably going to lose and do everything you can to prevent it. Take chances. Be aggressive. If you wimp out any more, you lose in a landslide.

Spell out the issues. Challenge the viewer with the answers. State categorically if they are happy, they should vote for Bush. If not, give us your vote. Do this for every major issue from Iraq to the environment to healthcare to the economy.

6. Go after Karl Rove and hypocritical criticism of you and Vietnam. I'd do a commercial with veterans denouncing him, especially after he had several deferments. Also do an ad on the outing of Valerie Plane, starting with the video footage of Bush senior declaring it treasonous to out a CIA officer, then Bush Jr. talking about returning honor and integrity to the WH. Cut to the facts of the case: it is a felony to out a CIA operative. Point out it was done by someone in the WH. Cut to Bush saying that he doesn't think that person will be caught. Add a sarcastic (or not) VO reminding viewers that this was the man bring honor back to the WH. This is so easy and so in your face but it NEEDS to be said.

7. Go after the Chicken hawks, all of whom dodged the draft in Vietnam. Remind the viewers that Powell (the only member other than Rumsfeld with military experience) was the only cabinet member to argue against Iraq. It is salient because Iraq is so screwed up. Men who didn't have the stomach for war play real war games from the safety of Washington.

8. Run the footage of Bush on the air craft carrier (pointing out it was 20 miles off shore and Bush had to spend one day learning to eject) with two texts:

A. His military record.

B. Iraq war statistics since "mission accomplished"

9. Attack Bush for his deceptive legislation:  the clean air bill which pollutes the air and the fresh water bill allowing corporations to dump.

10. Get the footage of Bush sitting with the kids from 9/11. Do what Moore did. Explain the circumstances (the set up) and let the footage play with a clock composited as Moore did. Show bits of the whole 7 plus minutes and freeze on the most deer-in-headlights moment.

Remind the viewers that this is the man who accuse you and others of being unfit to lead.

11. Hammer Bush on the 17 per cent increase for Medicare premiums in states with older demographics like Florida.

12. Hammer Bush on total jobs. Detail his attempt to have food service jobs classified as manufacturing jobs. And detail all the other tricks he and the Republicans have tried to present themselves in the best possible light.

13. Stop being polite. Republicans are the new McCarthys and I don't mean Gene, I'm talking Joe. They will stop at nothing to win and quite frankly you should be prepared to give as well as get.

Time to get your ass in gear and stop being pathetic. You are losing to a moron. You should be ashamed! How's that for an ugly dose of reality?

Michael Deane