2008 Primaries, Views on News • September 30th, 2008

Who’s to blame…and where are the leaders?

by Chris Lato

So who’s to blame for the economic crisis? Democrats? Republicans? Obama? McCain? Bush? Clinton? The Masters of the Universe on Wall Street? Individuals who took out home loans they could never hope to continue paying off?

Or is it all of the above?

The more I read, the more I realize there’s plenty of blame to go around for just about every player in this scary state of affairs. No one’s hands are clean. Mistakes were made all over the place. This whole affair looks distinctly bipartisan.

President Bush’s goodwill is essentially spent. He will leave office seriously dinged by Iraq and the economy. Democrats are doing all they can to emphasize the lame-duck-ness of Bush. And let’s face it, we’re all looking ahead to the November elections anyway.

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Creative, Promotions, Views on News • September 29th, 2008

Atta boy, Attanasio

by Chris Lato

I am by no means a huge follower of major league baseball but it is a still a thrill to see the Milwaukee Brewers back in playoff action for the first time since 1982.

I remember being part of the crowd in ’82 when the Brew Crew beat the California Angels to clinch the spot in the World Series. It was an amazing thing.

A lot of the credit has to go to principal owner Mark Attanasio, who brought a level of enthusiasm to Milwaukee and the team that was lacking under the previous ownership regime. Attanasio wanted to win, and took the steps necessary to make that happen. He is a hands-on owner whose enthusiasm and love of the team is infectious.

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2008 Primaries, Leadership, Messaging, Speeches, Strategic Blueprints • September 26th, 2008

Debate time

by Chris Lato

After some questions, tonight’s first presidential debate is indeed on. The spin machines for both sides will be churning away. Your best bet is to watch and decide for yourself who ‘wins’ and why.

National security and foreign policy are the top issues tonight, and those are considered the GOP’s domain - so many are expecting that John McCain will prevail tonight. However, the economy will surely come into play, and it will be interesting to see whether McCain will face criticism for his perceived politicizing of the crisis this week by suspending his campaign and suggesting that this debate be called off.

For Barack Obama, the challenge is to convey an understanding of the issues that soothes voters questioning his relative lack of legislative experience. High-flying rhetoric can only carry him so far in these debates.

As for McCain, he will have to justify his support for an unpopular war and the perception that his foreign policy agenda will be a continuation of Bush 43. He will also have to show vitality to assuage the concerns of those who say he’s too old for the job.

Both will also end up discussing the economic crisis and will have to connect with middle-class voters who are jittery about the state of the nation and need assurance that the next president is up to the challenge.

Debates are important – it can take just a moment, a quip or a well-placed criticism or badly fumbled answer, to set a campaign on a whole different course. Think Nixon’s sweat and stubble, Bush 41 glancing at his watch, Al Gore’s sighs, etc. The race is close and the undecideds are still out there. This may be the chance for one candidate to get those undecideds breaking his way.

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2008 Primaries, Leadership, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • September 25th, 2008

The Clinton factor

by Chris Lato

There are a couple of ways to look at Bill Clinton’s recent statements on the presidential race. While Bill and Hill endorsed Barack Obama at the DNC, they have hardly been the attack dogs that some Obama supporters would like to see.

Why is that? Some believe the Clintons are going easy on John McCain in an effort to help him win, thereby positioning Hillary for another run for the White House in 2012. Is that overstating the Clintons’ perceived power? Perhaps not, considering a reasonably high percentage of Hillary supporters have yet to warm up to Obama.

I will say this: I was struck by the even-handed tone Bill Clinton has set this week. It has injected a much-needed dose of class in a race that has become increasingly shrill, with extremes on both sides shouting dopey slogans at each other.

For example, Clinton doesn’t read anything particularly nefarious in McCain’s call for Friday’s debate to be delayed. He is also defending his decision to not campaign on Jewish holidays.

I have not always been so willing to commend Bill Clinton – some of the things he said and did on the campaign trail when Hillary was still in the race were eyebrow-raisers, to put it mildly.

But Bill Clinton is nothing if not brilliant at political strategy. Clinton believes that now is not the time to ratchet up the rhetoric, and instead the campaigns should be talking more about solutions. That’s good advice. Heading to the high road at this stage of the game is a smart tactical move, changing the tone in a way that will speak to the middle. Clinton knows the first candidate to move in this direction will likely reap benefits.

With the troubling news about the economy and the potential for a huge bailout dominating the headlines, Clinton recognizes that people are truly worried about their financial future, and are looking to politicians to lead and not play games.

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2008 Primaries, Views on News • September 24th, 2008

The trouble with running mates

by Chris Lato

As both presidential campaigns get ready for the debates, the running mates are getting ink for all the wrong reasons. Some of this is tempest in a teapot stuff, but still: it’s always a problem for a campaign looking to 1) stay on message and 2) avoid giving fodder to the competition.

Joe Biden either isn’t getting his talking points from the Obama campaign, or he is choosing to ignore them completely. Or, third option, he’s just being Joe – the Senator known for a gaffe or two in his time.

As for Sarah Palin, questions about limiting press access are popping up mainly because the press doesn’t like being cut out of things and made to feel like they’re following the candidate around for photo ops only – although on today’s campaign trail, events are so tightly managed that moments of true spark and originality are few and far between.

And we interrupt this commentary for some breaking news: John McCain is suspending his presidential campaign to work on the financial system crisis.

On the face of it, this is a pretty brilliant move. It will surely be branded by critics as a stunt, and some will say McCain’s call to postpone this week’s debate suggests he is not ready. However, Barack Obama is now in a bit of a bind: does he follow McCain’s lead, or continue to campaign, running the risk that his own relatively short legislative resume will be up for renewed criticism as a result? We should know soon.

This couldn’t happen at a better time for McCain, who is seeing the undeniably tight campaign shifting further toward Obama.

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Leadership, Messaging, Speeches, Views on News • September 18th, 2008

Patriotism through higher taxes

by Chris Lato

Joe Biden’s record as a veritable gaffe machine is well-documented by independent reports, but a comment he made this week is not so much a gaffe as it is a telling example of the mindset that will be a deciding factor in this election.

In a story that I had to read at least twice to make sure it was ‘reporting’ and not an opinion piece criticizing John McCain, the AP says Biden calls paying higher taxes ‘patriotic.’ He was referring to the tax hikes President Obama would seek against high-level earners.

The idea of redistributing wealth, which Biden is endorsing with his comments, is the kind of notion that makes fiscal conservatives nuts – the ‘bigger government knows best’ ideology that stands in stark contrast to McCain’s record and positions. For Obama/Biden, the thinking is that economic class warfare will resonate with those who are not among the richest in the nation.

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2008 Primaries, Views on News • September 17th, 2008

The iPod tax is back

by Chris Lato

Uh-oh. New taxes could be coming your way in Wisconsin…including the dreaded iPod tax.

With the election less than two months away, the timing on this proposal is interesting. With the state Senate expected to stay in Democratic hands, and the Assembly believed by some to be up for grabs, the thinking is that a Democrat-controlled Legislature, coupled with a Democrat governor, would embrace this list of proposals from the Department of Revenue.

Could this be a game changer in some legislative races? It certainly should be a hot topic on the campaign trail in these final few weeks. Republicans and fiscally-conservative Democrats would be wise to seize this issue as just one example of how important the upcoming elections are.

Those who support these taxes may be asked why they would seek tax hikes when the Wisconsin economy and families are already struggling to make ends meet.

Now, a lot can happen in the next few months. Let’s say Republicans hold onto the Assembly. Or, Barack Obama becomes our next president, and Gov. Doyle leaves Wisconsin for a job in the Obama administration. Barbara Lawton ascends to the throne, and she is thought to be more liberal on tax-and-spend policy.

Or, Congress refuses to act on these Internet-tax proposals.

Those are a lot of ‘what-if’ scenarios. These tax hikes wouldn’t go into effect tomorrow. But by the same token, these ideas aren’t going away and it’s a worthy issue for voters to consider before November 4.

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Grass Roots Organization, Leadership, public relations • September 16th, 2008

The case of the phantom endorsements

by Chris Lato

Yikes. This is a mess that just keeps getting messier.

Regardless of who originally screwed up, it’s time for Daniel Knodl to give up on this whole endorsement thing. It is doing him no favors and has even tripped him up post-primary. It dings Knodl’s credibility and it’s a PR mess that didn’t have to happen. It makes him look like he can’t manage a campaign – not good when running for office.

Time to come out, admit mistakes were made, take full responsibility and whatever punishment may come from that, and get back to knocking on doors and talking about issues. This never should have happened in the first place, but it’s time now for Mr. Knodl to cut bait, already.

And let this be a lesson to all candidates – when seeking endorsements, do one simple thing:

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wispundits • September 15th, 2008

MPS and the press

by Chris Lato

Dan Bice’s latest column has a lot of food for thought but I was particularly struck by the MPS piece (scroll down to read).

I’m of two minds on this one.

On the one hand, as a former reporter, I get it. What does MPS have to hide with this quasi-gag order? When deadlines are approaching fast and news is breaking, reporters need access to officials on the ground to get the information immediately and accurately. Reporting at WTMJ-AM, we often had to contact schools directly to get information about closings, threats, incidents on campus, etc.

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2008 Primaries, Views on News • September 12th, 2008

A VP candidate who matters

by Chris Lato

Conventional wisdom says no one cares who the vice-presidential candidate is, that people vote for the top of the ticket.

But conventional wisdom appears to be quite wrong in 2008.

The selection of Joe Biden to run with Barack Obama was, by and large, greeted with muted enthusiasm. Many observers suggest Biden was a safe but uninspired pick meant to balance a perceived lack of experience on Obama’s part. Amazingly, even Biden himself is suggesting he wasn’t the best possible choice.

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