Romney proved something in Florida. He’s all about psychological warfare, and his team knows how to wage it. Mitt’s operatives sized up the profile of their foe, Newt Gingrich, found his hot buttons and jammed them until he squealed like a stuck pig.
Barack Obama might be a savvier adversary, but he’s got his buttons too. As evidenced by whatever happened between the President and AZ Gov. Jan Brewer, he’s got a prickly side. Some might even call it arrogance.
In Florida, Romney’s camp displayed a viciously effective ability to target an opponent’s arrogance and tweak it to self-destructing distraction.
It’s a lesson the Obama team should well learn.
The strategy is simply: Needle your foe with attacks, no matter how silly, irrelevant or unfounded, until he reacts. Then call him a whiner for complaining, making him look ridiculous.
Romney proved in Florida he has no intention of running a campaign about himself, but instead he’ll mount an assault on the opposition that forces a retort, giving him control of the agenda.
Obama must not let this happen. Stay on offense. My hunch is that he should go negative early, perhaps now and by name in a massive TV ad buy, putting Romney on defense as soon as possible – and keep him there for the next ten months.
Sometimes in politics powder kept dry can never be lit.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
22 Responses to Mitt Inc., Lessons for November
Crowd Favs
- A Senate About Nothing (47)
sjwny: This country was born out of revolution. Perhaps the time has come again to revolt against a government whose members choose to enrich themselves, instead of representing us and our future well being. I do not call for...
+8jace: Sjwny, Great post and well said. As for myself I prefer a healthy dose of symbolism attached to all my protests. Perhaps a guillotine set up on the capital steps and the occasional tumbrel parked in the limo. spaces?
+3
- Trail Mix Radio: Gays, Bullies (and Travolta) (194)
coloradobob: Going to the “woolly headed stone cutter” tomorrow. That 2 tons of limestone I bought, has 2 flat sides . I’ll get “TOOTER” cut into a one foot rock. , and see what it looks like. Then I...
+7xrepublican: ! SATIRE ALERT ! It’s too bad the Pommies no longer have torture chambers with which to induce confessions. A few waterboardings could break this murdoch case wide open. According to dick cheney, sleep...
+5- +4
- Are We Happy Yet? (34)
Jamie: The Plum Line: Romney’s plans would explode deficit
+3
- A Senate About Nothing (47)
Woo Hoo from the Sunshine State -- Election tomorrow -- But already early voted.
Mitt is on the up swing following South Carolina -- He is learning how to follow up and deliver the punch but can he strike a knock out blow to capture the Rep Nomination?
Obama is arrogant and this makes for a larger target for that strike coming his way.
ping, it’s likely to be a tko at a brokered convention whatwith the proportional counts aggregating for paul et al.
If arrogance was a drawback in electoral contests, this country would have been spared 8 years of the Bush administration.
Good morning!
Great posts this past week, Craig!
Newton, the squealing oinker, in happier times!
Romney vs Obama… the destructive capitalist vs the out of touch socialist… for the next 10 months.
Our elections are long and drawn out like birthing a frickin’ whale… and this one is shaping up to be a real snoozer.
ps Rick and I went to a matinee yesterday to see The Descendants…. the acting, the scenery, the screenplay, the plot… were all awesome… highly, highly recommend it.
Newt was always over rated, he was not a great thinker or strategist. He co opted the whole ‘party of ideas’ thing, and attempted to make it his own.
Along the way he was helped by colleagues who bought into his intellectual superiority shtick and a media establishment that was too lazy and too preoccupied to point out his charade.He has hung around far too long by trading on a myth.
I am glad he ran for president, perhaps we can be done with him once and for all. He was a leech on the body politic, nothing more.
Take away the psychotic projection worthy of a DSM IV case study, and Newt’s an overrated pseudo-intellectual with a sycophantic staff.
I think Mitt’s going to have a few more hot button moments than Barack when they meet.
“I think Mitt’s going to have a few more hot button moments than Barack when they meet.”
In 2008 and again this year Mitt has proven to be plenty prickly, and something of a whiner in his own right.
I rather suspect that Obama and company know which buttons to push. Mitt should prepare to have the long underwear in a wad from time to time.
Jace and Danilo
For 30 years I’ve been amazed by the multitude of politicos who considered Newt an intellectual giant. It came down to they were either mental pygmies looking up or con artists perpetuating the image for their own gain. At best Newt remembers a whole host of misunderstood “facts” that he can glibly repeat loudly enough to convince others of a fallacy that will benefit his bank account.
Yes, Jace, Mitt would do quite well as Whiner-in-Chief, if that is what the 99-pct are looking for.
RR
This year the Oscar Race is much more entertaining than the Presidential contest. I think it will come down to The Descendants or the Artist unless we have one of those years when they split the vote and a dark horse such as The Help or Hugo slides through the opening created.
I’ll work up ballots later this week.
But Newt has something that the Republican Party desperately needs--an iconclastic personality that stirs things up. That alone makes the party leadership fearful, no, makes them crazy.
You could have one helluva drinking game if you had to take a shot every time Newt mentions Reagan in an interview. Problem would be pouring fast enough.
Newt is actually everything that he hates. Narcissistic Personality Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder? I can’t choose. Let’s flip a coin…
Renee, what the devil is Rick stirring up at HP??
With all the money Mittens is spending — he should be doing well
I think CC is right though — Mittens will fight down and dirty and won’t let up
Obama is willing to do those things too --I think we should all put on our raincoats
nudie is off the rails
but snuffy cleared the rails for him and let him roam away
nudie is a big fat liar (literally) and snuffy just let him lie away without a single challenge
Does this mean that the concept of “post-partisanship” is finally abandoned? It hasn’t served the President well at all.
Btw, all presidents have a State of the Union that is an overview of priorities and wishes to move their agenda. As SOFU’s go, this one was GOOD! If I were a teacher, which had been my plan, I would have required my students to read the text and write an essay about what they find intriguing and why. I would also require them to defend their standpoint no matter what.
Having said that, I would also require my students to read previous SOTU addresses and do a comparative analysis. What worked? What didn’t? Questions unanswered, questions not asked. This is a great learning process. Geez, I am sorry I changed my mind and didn’t accept the teacher’s education program. I did not feel that I would be a good teacher.
NEW THREAD
i’m amused watching Mitt and Newt trash one another. One thing republicans are good at, really good — their bag of dirty tricks to outdue one another. Nice to see them take each other out and not the dems, at least not yet.
As crazy as it sounds, I really DO think moon bases sound like a fun way to expand into outer space. From the moon to mars. Sounds like a 1950s science fiction comic book. Be that as it may, at least Newt offered up such an idea which could never see the light of day. But if nothing else, it was one idea that I was at first laughing about and then hoping it could happen. Someday it will. LOL…
NEW THREAD!
Sweetie and I were shopping in a Caribbean enclave of Ft. Lauderdale this weekend. One shop had a radio station on that played ’60s and ’70s music. After every song an annoying willard ad reminded Floridians that the nude grinch had once been found unethical by the House of Reps, and insinuated that he was in bed with Big Business Crooks, like Freddie Mac. This ad is so frequent, negative, and tedious that there has to be a portion of the voters who will vote for grinch just to retaliate against willard’s nuisance.
As far as I can see, willard does not allege in his ads that he himself has any virtue. All the rummy ads I have seen/heard merely attack the grinch.
Geez, imagine, a republican in bed with Big Business….
Geez, imagine a ripper in bed with crooks….
Geez, imagine a pugugly running negative tv and radio ads every 3 minutes 24/7 for two weeks….