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Articles from Contributor

Ready for Prime Time…

In the category of more unsolicited advice they didn’t ask for, are tired of getting, and will certainly ignore, I’ll holler one more pitch from my armchair to the McCain campaign (I’m a political consultant, I can’t help it).

There is no state by state way to break out of the campaign’s current spiral. Trips to Iowa will not do it. …

Zing the Bling…

I saw the RNC statement on Gov. Palin’s $150,000 clothing bender on the RNC’s tab. This caper is gonna make for a long day at the office for the good folks at the RNC/McCain press operation. Thought I’d offer a little help in a humorous vein; some other possible spin lines for the RNC.

1.) What you sneering critics in the liberal MSM …

Powell

I am not normally of the view that endorsements mean much in Presidential politics. But Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama today is a real sledgehammer blow to the already staggering McCain campaign. Not just because a Powell endorsement shores up Obama’s shaky foreign policy bona fides, but even more because of the content of …

Pre-Debate Thoughts

Some arm-chair quarterbacking before the final debate.

Obama’s mission is simple. Kill the clock. Act Presidential. Hope nothing happens. He’s winning.

McCain’s job is harder. He’s up against the wall and time is quickly running out. My advice, as usual, is probably the opposite of what his people are advising him. I say ignore …

Dial Group Madness

I was doing some cable TV duty last night and had the bad luck to follow a segment about a focus group of voters being dial tested during the debate. Dial groups are bad enough, but actually putting this madness on television as a verdict of some kind is reckless. I said as much at the beginning of my segment. First, the sample from …

30 Days Out…

Lots of process talk on the political tom-toms right now about McCain pulling out of Michigan and re-deploying resources to other states. This moving forces around the map like Gen. Rommel in the desert stuff may be catnip to the media and a huge pre-occupation of the campaign staffs, but it can obscure the big picture. McCain is in …

Des Moines Register…

As a former general in the GOP, I get a lot of emails from various operative types around the country. Many are old comrades from the forgotten wars of old Republican statewide campaigns. Unlike the well meaning but under-experienced six month wonders who seem to populate most of the GOP campaign apparat in Washington of late, these …

Debate thoughts…

No game-changer; the debate essentially a tie. Maybe a slight edge on points to McCain as he did put Obama on the defensive quite a few times although at the price of a crusty tone. Both campaigns will now employ first-rate funhouse mirror logic to claim smashing victories. McCain will say this puts him back in the race. They won’t …

Debate Watch List…

Things to watch for tonight:

1.) Will McCain project a sense of steadiness and cool control. His operatic campaign of the last two weeks has undercut this and he needs to undo the damage.

2.) Will Obama speak in the clear, direct sentences of man ready to be in command.

3.) Will McCain emerge from the debate with a clear and crisp …

Et Tu, Concord?

I was punditing away on Morning Joe this am, making various electoral college predictions with Chuck Todd and the rest of the gang. As Chuck moved various swing states around on an electronic map, I couldn’t resist sketching out a cruelly ironic Life Imitates Art Scenario, which I like to call “The Shakespeare.” I plan a full …

The Swooning Over Sarah…

About the loneliest precinct in the GOP these days is the one reserved for troublesome Republicans who think Gov. Sarah Palin was a poor VP choice, even after The Speech. Well, here I am. Hello? Anybody else? Wow, there is a big echo in here…

In my postings here and my appearances on NBC I’ve made the case that as far as helping …

The Barracuda and the Wolverines

What will Sarah Palin mean for McCain in Michigan? While I share the view that in the end the VP choice doesn’t mean much we might as well join in the speculation parade. I chose Michigan because I know it well from my work there on a bunch of statewide campaigns back in my consulting days.

Much of the battle for Michigan is fought …

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