I believe if the Presidential election were held today that the Republican ticket would win. THAT is stunning. How could that be you ask? How could the Democratic ticket have snatched defeat from the jaws of apparent victory?
I think the Democrats have done very poor marketing and positioning of late of their ticket. They had better change before it is too late if they want to win. Think of this take as purely an exercise in marketing not as my personal political agenda as I do not have one here.
The media and the Democratic marketing machine have positioned Obama as the “establishment”; as the clear winner; and as a “media darling.” The Democratic Convention - I believe - backfired as it was more a coronation than a political rally and convention. Obama is coming off as a defender of the Presidential position and McCain as the attacker and agent of change. Wow. Think of that dipsy-doodle move? I believe America embraces underdogs and outsiders. Overreacting to Obama’s lack of experience and trying to make him the “new establishment” was a bad move. Consumers sniff out inauthenticity a mile away. They liked and respected the old Obama. They don’t recognize the new and improved Obama and he is being packaged as just another politician. The angrier he gets, the worse he does in the polls. Obama should use niceness as his competitive weapon.
When the Democratic ticket took the high road and when Obama was seen a healer, as an outsider, as an agent of change without a lot of political baggage, his scores soared with voters and undecideds. That was why he was able to get more votes than Hillary in the primary. When he looks like another politician with experience and is an attacker and gets dirty in the mud, he loses esteem with voters. Look at Palin’s scores right now. She is beloved just because she ISN’T seen as a typical politician. Her lack of experience and freshness is seen as a positive NOT a negative. Whenever she is mocked by the media establishment her scores soar. Why? Most of America dislikes and distrusts mainstream media. The more the mainstream media attacks Palin, the better the Republicans do. I know that sounds counterintuitive but I believe it is true and the recent polls I believe are proving me right. As I noted before, if mainstream media really does want Obama to win, then they should cuckold McCain. 
Or at least be seen as neutral and allow the candidates voices to be heard loud and clear.
Obama should NOT attack. He shouldn’t respond daily to every tit for tat. He should soar above the noise. He should create a manifesto of change and communicate it at every opportunity. He should belittle the conversation not the people talking. He should focus on what he means by his change and he should get himself repositioned as a national healer, as a centrist and as someone who can reach across the aisle and create a national mandate to make the country great again. He needs to be a man with a plan and not be seen as a man who is being handled by experts and a political party.
He should NOT be seen as bedfellows with the national media. It is truly stunning to me as an observer to watch how the Democrats have shot themselves in the foot since the European tour for Obama. I don’t think the campaign has hit on its “Change: I am an outsider and not your normal politician” theme since that trip which made him look like he was already the President and was running for re-election. As he became the ”incumbent” with the media, McCain became the outsider and the agent of change and our country wants change. McCain’s choice of Palin on the ticket was brilliant and the media thought it was dumb. The mainstream media is out of touch with America. It is mostly always wrong.
This turnaround in the polls is stunning. This election could become a case history in just bad positioning and marketing by a major political party.
Tags: Biden, McCain, Obama, Palin, Presidential Election, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take
One thing is clear, in January we’re gonna sell at least two more tickets to Caps games, and one would be for hockey Mom with lipstick.
I do agree with most of what you say except I don’t see the Republicans winning.
Polls don’t mean anything or little of anything. I don’t think any of this will matter until the debates. I’m a one issue voter now though. If Sarah Palin would go to war with Russia over the issue with Georgia, then how would that affect our power play? I’ll be a Democrat on that consideration alone. As a Caps fan, I love Russians.
Ted, I am a Republican and I couldnt agree with you more. I think part of the reason for the Dems falling apart however is Obama’s inexperience on this type of platform. He’s in utter shock of what is happening and he has no clue on how to react nor does the higherups in his campaign, so he is reacting from the gut.
Many of the Democrats on the Hill are completely embarassed by what is taking place right now. If McCain/Palin hold onto their momentum and win the election in my opinion it will be the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party. The party will finally realize that there is no cohesiveness within the party. If the ticket this year was Hillary(Pres) and Obama(VP) the party wins in a landslide.
Be ready for Palin vs Hillary in 2012.
I realize it is hard for us to stop talking about the noise, but I have had it! I am tired of the Monday quarterbacking going on. Instead of ranting on the missteps of Obama’s campaign, or what would have happened if Clinton was on the ticket or the phenom that is Palin or what we can/can not say without the other side throwing the ‘race card’ or ‘gender card’. How about we demand they talk on the issues. How about everytime they say the word change, they actually back it up with HOW! I need debates to come quickly because all the muck that is the attack/counter attack doesn’t get us to what we need as voters, which is where these candidates, and by candidates I mean McCain and Obama, because THEY are running for PRESIDENT, stand on reversing the damage of the last 8 years and taking us away from a failing economy, disasterous housing crisis and abismal foreign relations policy. THAT is what I need to decide where my vote goes.
What I don’t need is more of the same chatter the last 3 weeks have been. It’s Monday quarterbacking and doesn’t get us to a win next Sunday.
Its only stunning if you don’t know much about polls. Go read fivethirtyeight. You might learn something.
Stick to your day job Ted. You’re clueless when it comes to politics.
Ted I disagree. It is more that after the initial hype and excitement that many people are realizing that Obama is not all that he was cracked up to be and that the were fooled. Its like the old saying about the cheap suitcase or the umbrella that destructs in the first rainstorm. Obama will continue to go down in the polls and the key to it will be when those under 25, who were so fooled, understand the issues and that Obama is a fraud.
I think that when the dust settles and people start to realize that this is an election for the most important position in the world, not a beauty pageant, you will see Obama’s numbers rise again. When people realize this is fight between Obama and McCain, not Palin versus the media, they will start to discover that beneath the folksy accent, the cute glasses, and the charming demeanor, Palin has no right being considered as a VP. I mean, c’mon!! Did you see how she had no idea what the Bush Doctrine was about? It’s only the most important and dangerous foreign policy principle that exists today. And she had no idea what it was!!!
Many Republicans are excited after she was picked to be VP, ask them why they are all of the sudden excited, they would’nt know why. They can’t tell you one important issue she brings to the table. They are just mesmerized by all the shiny and glittering things that she brings forth. Remember, not all that glitters is gold.
Well Tom, I think that a lot of those people under 25 are going to be asked to go to war by McCain/Palin. And if McCain/Palin can’t even tell the truth about the simplest things (Bridge to Nowhere), how can they be trusted to ask our soldiers to make the ultimate sacrifice for the right reasons?
That being said, the general criticism of the Democrats as bad marketers is true.
i think you are missing the point ted, if obama had been picked now like palin- it would be the same omg effect- once the dust settles down and people see her for who she is and not she is described-it’s over. did you see the abc interview-again- she can’t even lie her way out of a bag. biden does not need to do much to destroy- and for all the talk about how she is so new- her politics are old. when the issues present themselves- only one candidate is really about change. obama
Although you state your neutrality - its clear your not.
PLEASE don’t get political…
LET’s GO CAPS!
Um folks, I realize that a lot of the left blogosphere is running around like the sky is falling. Shouldn’t we have a debate or two first and then check the polls after that?
Trying to sell that Obama is a fraud is quite the stretch. He’s pretty smart. Go here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPLAoHPXG3o
or here
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1126056719?bctid=1419798774
Come on, admit it, he’s smart and good.
Who is this Leonsis kid?..he’s pretty good !
Interesting stuff Ted, Obama should stick to his issues. His interview with Bill O’Reilly was very good and he explains where he stands for the most part with some gaps. Talking the issues is what McCain did well at the Republican convention. Obama has the ability to do it, we’ve seen it to some degree and not talking to the issues and just saying “he had a plan” is what sorely hurt John Kerry in 2004. Obama is a very good speaker and can communicate well. I respect him but when I get down to where he stands on the issues (especially on taxes) versus where I stand I can’t vote for him. Is it hockey season yet, that is a more fun topic?
Thats a very perceptive probe into the McCain Campaign’s obvious late night brainstorming. Betcha someone jumped out of their chair with Palin idea and strategy.
The election will (as always) be decided by which tv show people want to watch for the next 4-8 years. No-one was going to vote John McCain into office, the young athletic Senator from Chicago just looks better on tv, compared with the hazy eyed, old folks home escapee. So the only way to get anyone to vote for McShrub was to make them vote for his VP, and hope he dies in office. There’s a tempting piece of pie to be taken from the Dems in choosing a woman, and hell, a lipsticked, mooseshootin’ mom from Alaska is as far away from Washington (ie change) you can get.
But I think the majority of the American electorate is tired of the GOP freak show, the clowning on the national and international stage is showing its seams, and the McCain Palin Campaign is now such a mishappen frankenstein that not even Karl will be able to push it over the finish line.
interesting reactions— geez i wonder what generated the serious and at times almost malicious comments— oh ya politics!
First and foremost, the Obamessiah is in trouble because for the first time in his political career, he’s actually having to run against a Republican and he doesn’t know what to do. Sorry, Alan Keyes does not count. Add in the fact that he’s trying to reach out to the middle while continuing to satisfy a nutroot base that backed him in the first place and it is no wonder he’s all over the map.
And can we give credit where credit is due? John McCain has run an outstanding campaign thus far. He neutralized the much ballyhooed “$$$$$” advantage of the Obamessiah by McCain’s excellent use of “new media” by posting ads on YouTube for free and letting the “unbiased” MSM run them for him. I’m surprised you missed this one Ted.
But while the “unbiased” media’s despicable actions in this race have certainly made it harder for the Democrats, they’ve done most of the damage to themselves. They’ve been running on “we’re not Bush” since 2002 and it only finally worked for them in 2006. But they continue to lack an agenda other than “we’re not Bush.” Bush is history, campaigns are about the future and the Dems can’t get over 1998 and 2000.
It is downright laughable for the Obamessiah to attempt to tie McCain to Bush. Anybody who has been even the slightest bit of attention for the last 8 years knows that McCain has been a thorn in the side of Bush more than he’s been a rubber stamp. The Obamessiah trots out his 90% line while hoping people don’t notice that he himself “voted with Bush” 40% of time. Only the most partisan of Democrats believes that everything Bush does is wrong (Bush Derangement Syndrome) and everybody else realizes that the Bush administration is coming to an end no matter who wins. There’s a reason why Bush has higher approval ratings than the Democrat led Congress.
Finally, change is not synonymous with improvement.
Heres a stratagy for the Democrats. Lie, Spin, and rederick. It works great in this country. We go to war over it. McCain is doing great and the polls keep rising lie after lie. It makes me sad to know that we are a people atleast half made up of uninformed lazy sound bite feeding followers that have moved there blind faith in god to politics. Once again the republicans have turned an election into a joke. Obama talks about the issues every day on the campaign trail but the media wont play that part. They just want to play the 20 second responce to the poop the other side was shoveling yesturday. Its our job to look past the poop and find the truth cause its part of the game and they aint never gonna stop shovelin it.
Obama is an empty suit and people are recognizing that now that they are really starting to pay attention.
Do we even know Obama? The campaign and media machine spent more time over the past two weeks digging up dirt on Palin than they did exposing the obvious dirt on Obama over the last nearly 24 months. If someone’s past, associations, and influence needs to remain secret in order to be electable, what does that say? Red flag! Red flag! Dishonesty! No truths!
Politics should not be about image and fluff as much as it should be about the issues and leadership on these issues. Ted, please stick to your marketing wisdom in business and leave the political leadership to the people who lead on principle in that “arena” … not on image, marketing, and polls please.
Obama is the wrong man in the wrong time for the wrong job. God help the USA and the world if this man is elected.
What do you see in this guy and why are you in the tank for him?
It’s truly amazing how polarizing this election is. True Obama fans see it one way and the true McCain fans believe he’s the answer. I’ve always found politics extremely interesting, but you can sure see the hackles rise on people when you talk Obama vs McCain.
Obama is too far left to win the general election. In a year when the Democrats should have been able to run a yellow dog and win, they nominated an inexperienced radical… marxist even who’s a product of the old style Chicago dirty political machine.
The numbers will not allow an extremist from either party to get elected when facing a moderate from the other party.
Until the Democrats realize they have to nominate a moderate Dem to appeal to all the voters in the center of the bell curve, they are destined to scratch their heads and wonder how they let the White House get away.
The more people know about Obama the less they like him. As long as they are able to project their own hopes and dreams onto his ephemeral eloquence, they support him… but when they begin to see his dreams don’t really match theirs BHO’s popularity will plummet… it’s already starting and no change in tactics will help.
The lesson Democrats learn from this election is the really important bit that needs to be answered. But this election was lost in February when the press decided they wanted to crown him without doing a proper job vetting him.
[...] Or Obama could take Ted Stake’s advice: [...]
That’s it exactly. If the Dems had put someone like Evan Bayh up for president or, even better, someone like Bill Richardson with gubernatorial experience…cakewalk. That’s all that needs to be said, cakewalk.
I am a pretty politics savvy person and I’m even getting tired of hearing about this b.s. Let’s get onto the debates. I can’t wait until this stupid election is finally over. I really feel that 90% of Americans already know who they’re going to vote for.
RE: response #2.
We’re not going to go to war with Russia.
Georgia is an ally, but they are NOT in NATO.
So, we’re not going to war with Russia.
Come on people.