Read all about it. No surprise here, but I'm sad to see it happen. Hindsight being what it is, I suppose it's the right time to reflect a bit about Fred's candidacy, and how it went sour. Here are the things that could have been done differently:
- Got in earlier. July 4 would have been ideal, and may have given him more momentum. September was, in retrospect, definitely too late.
- Debated more. Fred performed well in the debates; it was a mistake to announce on Jay Leno during a debate that he could have won.
- Media management. Fred's campaign had no idea how to handle media criticisms. When even Fox News is accusing you of being a lazy candidate, you need some serious PR help to disprove them.
- Created a winning delegate scenario. Fred needed to be able to focus on the states where he could win. He could have done what Rudy is doing for Florida, and taken Iowa South Carolina. Instead of focusing on a place he could win, he seemed all over the map.
- Been easier on James Dobson. True, the Focus on the Family founder's initial criticisms of Thompson's faith was uncalled for, and unsound; but Fred could and should have been conciliatory, rather than standoffish. This put off a good number of evangelical supporters, driving them over to Huck.
- Smartened his message. His slogans were a bit trite. I think the campaign underestimated the intelligence of the Republican base.
Just my thoughts, informed by the light of hindsight.
No comments:
Post a Comment