Perhaps the reason I welcomed Barack Obama’s surge in the Democratic primaries now nearly two years ago was that I first experienced the then-Chicago politicians as an image on TV screen without sound. As the 2008 campaign got underway, nearly all the TV coverage I saw was when I was doing cardio at the gym. He looked good, relaxed and in control.
If image matters in political campaigns, then Scott Brown has a long career ahead of him. Last night, while at the gym, I watched coverage of the two “political celebrity” visits to the Bay State. Former President Bill Clinton on behalf of Democrat Martha Coakley. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on behalf of Scott Brown.
The brief clip I saw of the Democrat’s appearance showed a formal Clinton praising Coakley in a nondescript (hotel?) ballroom. The candidate herself looked stiff and formal, proud to be honored by the society blowhard at her cotillion, prim, proper and perhaps too poised. By contrast, we saw the New York City Mayor outdoors on the streets of Boston’s North End, joining the energetic candidate moving about the crowd and shaking hands. It was like comparing the society column to the sports page (only this sports page was like that in the Daily Prophet, the characters in the photographs moved).
(This is not the same clip I saw on CNN, but some of the imagery looks familiar. Thanks to GatewayPundit for posting it.)
Given that Clinton carried the Bay State twice (the second time with over 60% of the vote), his backing of the hapless Democrat should help her campaign. But, will it hurt Brown that the former Mayor is a big Yankees fan? (You know the team Red Sox fans love to loath.) Alas for the Democrat that in trying to use this to drive a wedge between her opponent and his Boston base, she shot herself in the foot.
It ain’t just her cluelessness about the Bay State’s beloved BoSox that’s hurting Martha Coakley, it’s also the image of her opponent in the outdoors (you know, that cold outdoors) interacting with the people he seeks to represent.
As you may recall, Bill Clinton did a lot of events outdoors in 1996, making sure the TV cameras caught him doing things. That was the year he won 61% of the vote in the Bay State, garnering more than two votes for every one his disabled opponent picked up.
For a lot of people—most people, maybe—sports is more important than politics. I think even in such a solidly Dem state, that is probably true, given the success and iconic nature of the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics. It’s one thing for a candidate from Massachusetts to go to Wisconsin and call it “Lambert Field.” I think it’s another thing for a “Massachusettes” democrat to be so out-of-touch with sports fans in her own state. Yankee fan Rudy can connect with Massachusetts sports fan better than Martha can because he understands and respects the culture of sports fans (as does Scott Brown). Martha Coakley may have never rooted against Boston’s teams in her life, but her aloofness on sports culture makes even John Kerry look deserving of a gig as an ESPN analyst. I think it’s entirely possible that the direction the Congress and the President are taking our country is too liberal even for the voters of Massachusetts, but swing voters often vote based on image and personality issues at least as much as on policy. If the personalities of Scott Brown and Martha Coakley were switched, there is no way Scott Brown could win Massachusetts no matter how much people hated the healthcare bill.
Interesting idea whether people would actually have their vote tipped based on the sports team the candidates support…or end up badly faking they support. I honestly think thats probably…well…a less than great reason but wonder how often it comes into play.
Anyway, what a stupid thing for her to do. You are in a close race, which you seem to be trailing, and you decide to get into a fight with one of the state’s sport stars. Thats just stupid, she needs to be focused and not distracted.
Really if she wants to win, go get Tom Brady. He can at least give her some visual fire power…
And I got too distracted thinking of Tom Brady to bring up this other point, Bill Clinton. He has lost his magic touch with winning elections for Democrats, he has had a miserable track record over the past year. He isn’t going to really turn the tide for her, he just doesn’t have the star power anymore.
I’m not even sure Tom Brady would be too much help at the moment, considering his truly awful performance versus the Ravens last weekend. Tom Brady is a fantastic quarterback and a future hall-of-famer, but right now, a campaign appearance featuring Tom Brady is probably just going to remind Massachusetts voters of their team’s embarrassing season-ending defeat. The Patriots and Massachusetts Democrats are both famous for winning, but maybe not this month.
American Power tracked-back with, ‘Martha Coakley’s Radical Tax-and-Spend Ideology’.
I think I even heard that the voters in MA would be LESS LIKELY to vote for someone endorsed by the Kennedy clan. Vickey Kennedy came out of course and endorsed Coakley a few weeks ago, then a pollster said that endorsement would take away more votes than it would add.
Are we through the looking glass here? Who has flipped the world upside down? (Obama)
Darkeyedresolve: After a certain point in their lives, people begin to physically take the form of their character: you end up looking like what you are. I think the reason is that The Big Creep has finally grown into the face he has earned: a creepy old guy who talks too much and thinks too much of himself.