« Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Again and Again | Main | Two Extraordinary Men »
August 16, 2006
Ned's Excellent Adventure
A week ago, my friend Ned Lamont pulled off a stunning upset in the Democratic Primary in Connecticut. Running against three term incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman, who just six years ago was nearly elected Vice President of the United States, Lamont won by four points, amazing pundits and his own inner circle including yours truly. Note that in the initial polls, Lamont was down by 40 points! (Full disclosure: I held a fund raiser for Ned.)
Here are some lessons from the campaign that might be useful to those of us in the private sector:
1) Be Who You Are-Senator Lieberman is known as a decent and devoted public servant, with never a bad word for Democrat nor Republican. Yet when he came to debate Ned, he refused to shake hands with his opposite number, he sneered at Ned's responses and was generally disrespectful. The result was a 10 point gain in the polls for Ned, who acted throughout as a gentleman of great intelligence and enthusiasm, the usual role for Joe Lieberman.
2) Visuals Matter-The single most important visual was of President Bush kissing Senator Lieberman on the cheek as he strode down the aisle to deliver the State of the Union address in January. This image corroborated Lamont's contention that Senator Lieberman had lost his way in his blind support of the President and that Connecticut should elect a real Democrat.
3) When You Have a Winning Issue, Stay With It-Lamont made it clear from the outset that he was the anti-war candidate. He has suggested establishment of a firm deadline for withdrawal of American troops from the front lines, to be replaced by Iraqis. Though he has also talked about national health insurance and a robust education plan, the exit polls indicated that 80% of those voting for Lamont did so because of the war in Iraq.
4) Address Your Weaknesses Early and Directly-Lieberman's camp tried to portray Lamont as a rich guy without qualifications for high office. Lamont turned the tables on this gambit by going public with his personal net worth and by discussing his successful small business start-up in the cable industry. He had real world experience with employee health costs and the need for better technical training.
5) Engage with the Blogosphere-When the Lieberman campaign made a big announcement about Lamont's ownership of stock in Halliburton, the Lamont campaign did its own quick research and found that the Senator also held shares in the same company. A few bloggers (Daily Kos as example) were given the story, which was then picked up by mainstream media. In fact, the blogosphere has been a key asset for Lamont's campaign, discussing his views, magnifying the impact of his ad campaign and speeches. One funny ad on YouTube, which was picked- up some blogs, parodies the negative attacks against Ned by showing his family critiquing Ned's coffee making skills which Ned acknowledges lamely.
6) Don't Be Over-Scripted-I asked Ned how he prepared for his appearance on Face the Nation on CBS News on Sunday. He told me that he read the Sunday newspapers. He came off as a plain-spoken, thoughtful man able to bring something different to the Senate. He is not afraid to say that SUVs ought to be counted in the fleet mileage targets for auto companies or that a needed revaluation of the Chinese currency relative to the dollar might well mean higher prices at Wal-Mart.
Technorati Tags:
Lamont
Posted by Edelman at August 16, 2006 8:19 AM |
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.edelman.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/233
Comments
I am very pleased that Lamont is the Democratic nominee. Lieberman's decline has been slow, but sure. This was a man for whom election day could not come quickly enough. He was losing ground by the day. In then end, I'm sure in his heart of hearts, he knew he was going to lose. If Lieberman stays in the race (as covered in today's NY Times piece), his reputation will be forever tarnished - win or lose.
Posted by: Leo Bottary at August 16, 2006 11:31 AM
Richard:
Look for Lieberman to win in November as an Independent and teach all naysayers a valuable and very basic political lesson: candidates win elections not just be sticking with the Party line, but by the support of all voters and supporters. Lieberman is a true man of integrity and doesn't make his decisions based on popularity, but by what he knows is right. A lesson not only for politics, but for life. I like your blog. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Mike Paul at August 17, 2006 2:34 AM
I'm always proud of a man who stands by his convictions and his country. It's unfortunate that in times of war, politicians divide people, aid American enemies and perpetuate the slaughter of American lives. Lieberman's got personal convictions. I applaud that.
And Lamont? I don't know enough about him YET "anti-war" makes me a skeptic.
Posted by: Roy Miller at August 17, 2006 12:08 PM
How does your support for Lamont square with his opposition to your favorite client Walmart? Read the frontpager in today's Times. Every Democrat worth his/her salt is jumping on the antiWalmart bandwagon. Looks like he isn't listening to any of your advice re: Walmart.
Posted by: Jim Bruni at August 17, 2006 1:15 PM
Have you seen the latest polls. Let's see who is at the finish line of the race come November. I strongly believe Lieberman will win by at least a few points. Why? Because he is a man of integrity and don't just vote the party line. He votes and speaks out for what he believes is right for all people. It is what true leaders do. I predict his naysayers will have to eat hay soon.
Posted by: Mike Paul at August 17, 2006 3:50 PM
Hear again, we can bring back the discussion of the effectiveness of blogs. Ned Lamont is a fringe candidate that looks like he will be defeated in a state wide election (currently down 12%). He won the primary -- by very specific targeting.
I view blogs the same way -- very localized targeting. Nothing huge by way of impressions -- and very difficult to value.
There are tens of millions of blogs out there -- read by some 2-4 million Americans. It is growing -- but the incredible segmentation will be their own undoing. Perhaps we will end up with a handful of decent, reliable blogs -- but the rest will be absorbed into the internet never to be heard of again.
Blogs will have the same fate as Lamont -- nice start, lots of fanfare -- but really affecting nothing in the long run.
Posted by: Chris McTague at August 20, 2006 7:18 PM
I thought there would be two dozen comments here. I did read Hee-Haw Marketing's observation and found it refreshing. Could make for a tough final when there's a Democrat running as an Independent supported by the Republicans in a state with so many registered Independents. Let's hope the voters see through it. I always considered Connecticut a pretty smart, saavy state. We're getting ready to find out for sure.
Posted by: Leo Bottary at August 21, 2006 1:41 PM