Required Campaign Reading
Monday, July 30, 2007All Democratic strategists need to read this article and memorize its every word:
It should really be an incredibly simple premise, but I can’t figure out why some Democratic dudes just can’t grasp it: Joe Average doesn’t have the time or the interest to read your policy papers; he has his family, his job, his mortgage and his favorite sports team to worry about, with maybe some free time for TV or radio. As a result, when elections come around, it’s unfair to expect that Joe magically found the time to read Congressional Quarterly and to pick up an M.A. in foreign relations. (Assuming he got an undergraduate degree in the first place; it’s still only 39% of the population.) Joe’s drawing on a few catch phrases, names and perhaps feelings that came up during the campaign, and casting a vote for “someone who gets it”.
In conclusion, being a political nerd is good because it means you might actually have an idea how to govern, but you better learn to hide that nerd side and get your average dude on for the campaign.