Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, public relations • March 28th, 2008

Spreading the Big Lie

by Chris Lato

Charles Krauthammer has a great piece about how a fairly straightforward statement made by John McCain on the campaign trail will be used to bludgeon McCain on foreign policy over the next several months.

This is an excellent illustration of how Big Lies take root and blossom. You’ve probably heard this already, the idea that McCain wants us at war in Iraq for the next 100 years. Well, it ain’t true, but that’s not going to stop his opponents from twisting it around.

Now, this is nothing new. Candidates at all levels take statements out of context, give it their own twist and try to turn it into gospel.

What are the lessons to be learned? For starters, candidates are ALWAYS on. Whether it’s a phone call, an email, a public appearance, or just shaking hands in a crowd, there is never a moment that can’t be captured and used against the candidate. Proceed cautiously at all times. You are never off the record.

Which leads to my next point, which I hammer on regularly: message discipline. By extension, how is that message conveyed? When a small fraction of an answer can be taken and turned into the linchpin of an opposition campaign, what does that tell you? Minimize your exposure by carefully considering your answers. Don’t be afraid to think before speaking. Your opponents hope you don’t … so do everything in your power to not give them the ammunition to take you down.

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