2008 Primaries, Events, Messaging, Views on News • February 15th, 2008

Debating the (lack of) debates

by Chris Lato

The Hillary Clinton campaign is on the Wisconsin airwaves, taking Barack Obama to task for passing on an offer to debate in Milwaukee.

The proposed debate sponsors included ABC, WISN-TV and Wispolitics.com.

I’m of two minds on this one. First, a disclosure: I have worked on campaigns that tried to make hash out of the opponent’s unwillingness to debate. It’s the classic underdog pose, and the argument — that citizens have a right to hear the candidates beyond the 30-second ads and 11.6-second soundbites (PDF) — is certainly reasonable under the right circumstances.

But for Hillary Clinton, this conveys a lack of strength. I’m surprised the Clinton campaign is spending TV ad dollars on this — it beams out a strong message of desperation for a top presidential candidate to try and engage on this issue. While the ad pays a bit of lip service to health care and the economy, it’s a real miscalculation to pass on a last-minute chance to connect with voters on a deeper level.

The Clinton campaign recognizes they are lacking momentum in Wisconsin. The hope is that a debate gets Obama away from the teleprompter and offers the chance to be embarrassed — get knocked off message, make a gaffe, anything that gives Clinton an advantage.

The Clinton ad states, “Maybe he’d prefer to give speeches than have to answer questions.”

Obama, who seems to be flying high in the Badger State, has no compelling reason to accept the invite. Why take the risk? When you’re drawing crowds and free press in a controlled atmosphere like a rally, you’re able to connect with your core audience just fine, thank you very much. Besides, additional debates outside Wisconsin are scheduled.

Granted, it’s not over yet. In a political season chock-full of surprises, the final chapter hasn’t been written. But it’s hard not to get the feeling that Barack Obama has nothing but time, while, for HillaryClinton, at this moment in the campaign, time seems to be running out.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 9:46 am and is filed under 2008 Primaries, Events, Messaging, Views on News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.