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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Manchin’s Campaign: Recommendations from the Politico in Stilettos


I believe it was Mic Jagger who said, “You can let yourself go, just as long as you can bring yourself back.” The United States Senate campaign between Manchin and Raese has many politicos across the nation wondering if Manchin can bring himself back in and come out on top.


It’s without question that his campaign has made mistakes, and this Politico in Stilettos is not only learning from those mistakes, but moreover trying to learn how to spin them and come out on top. But how to you spin the GOP’s “rubber stamp for Obama” angle?


Simple. You rebrand Manchin’s relationship with Obama, with a little help from Ringo. Who do you go to for advice? Who do you trust? Who helps you in times of need?


“Oh I get by with a little help from my friends...”


Manchin is a friend of Obama, someone who can most effectively teach him about the very special needs of our very unique wild, wonderful West Virginia. Obama surrounds himself with friends, meaning people he respects and trusts. I’m sure he doesn’t trust someone who slams everything the man has or hasn’t accomplished since he ran for office. Would you give someone the time of day if all they told you was how wrong you were? I know I wouldn’t. We all know Manchin is a “Friend of Coal” and, especially based on some of the GOP’s ads right now, he’s a friend of Obama. Thus, Manchin is the man who can make Obama a friend of coal.


Next problem: NRSC’s ad about “DC Joe”, how do you spin that?


Joe Manchin will not be the “DC Joe” the GOP has attempted to brand him as. Rather, he’s West Virginia’s Joe. Nobody knows West Virginia’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats like a full-time West Virginian. How many similarities does West Virginia have in common with Florida? As a legislator and as Governor, Manchin has been there for the people of West Virginia, and he will continue to be there because he’s West Virginia’s Joe.


If I had a hand in his campaign, these are what I’d propose to do on TV with corresponding direct mail and social media. But, that’s me.

5 comments:

  1. Byrd was a friend of Obama. Why not Manchin? Our senator should get along with all members of Congress, the president and even the vice president. The reason Byrd was so successful is because he had healthy working relationships with colleagues, whether they liked him or not. Would Raese have a healthy working relationship with Obama? I suspect not.

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  2. I was thinking about this today when I heard that he was behind in the polls. It came as a surprise to me that he was losing. I think he definitely needs to separate himself from Obama as much as possible if he's going to make a comeback.

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  3. I'm not a believer that Manchin is behind. I do believe these polls are skewed -- mainly because a few of these have stemmed from conservative sources such as Rasmussen and Fox News.

    I'm predicting Manchin by 10 points -- 55/45 split.

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  4. My Manchin commercial would show images of him sitting with the Sago and UBB families with a voiceover saying "When tragedy struck, Governor Joe Manchin was there standing by West Virginia workers and our families. He never gave up hope - even when others said the situation was hopeless. During these difficult times in our nation's capitol, we could use some common sense and a never give up attitude from someone who understands what West Virginia families are all about. Governor Joe Manchin for United States Senate."

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  5. I believe Manchin has made the mistake from the beggining by trying to defend himself from such attacks. His first two ads were poor at best. At that time with a sizeable lead his campaign most likely felt it was not necessary to place Manchin on a grandstand since he was already so "popular" among West Virginians, which was a terrible mistake. I feel they neglected to entertain the notion that this could become very close, or that they could even fall behind. The crucial time to make definitive decisions in the campaign was lost, therefore the sizable lead has slowly vanished.

    Raese has never changed his message. Manchin went from Defense to returned attacks to even a desperate attempt to gain favor from Conservative West Virginians by sueing the EPA. He should have came out with his own message and stuck to it. But even the slightest resemblence that Raese has him spooked has lead to what many percieve as an unorganized campaign with a man they thought they knew so well flustered and using every resource he has to make things right. As a Republicn who support Manchin, and still does... I feel that it is simply a win for the Rease Campaign at this point, perhaps Manchin and his team were just too "cocky" from the get go and once pushed on to their heels they appeared weak and frugal in the eyes of many West Virginians. A good friend of mine, who considers himself very liberal, said, "I know what he did wrong, he went after the republican votes and he forgot about us democrats." This made him appear scared and he lost his edge...

    The whole bringing Obama in as a friend of Coal through Joe is an excellent idea in theory, but West Virginians just wouldn't buy it, there is just too much out there for the GOP to use against such a notion. But hey at this point it's worth a shot right?

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