Leadership, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • November 11th, 2008

Rootin’ for Ryan

by Chris Lato

The groundswell of support keeps on building for Rep. Paul Ryan to step up and play a leadership role in the post-election Republican Party. The Wall Street Journal is among those media outlets that likes what it sees.

The question then becomes: does Ryan want it? And Ryan himself is, so far, saying “No thanks.” Family considerations are said to be playing a key role in his decision. Still, he is not totally shrinking from the spotlight.

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2008 Primaries, Strategic Blueprints • November 4th, 2008

When GOTV backfires

by Chris Lato

Oops. A get-out-the-vote effort that went south on the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

I emailed this around to a couple other former Wisconsin GOP’ers when I saw this piece – folks who used to work for the party, as I did – and one response was, “Same old RPW…when are they going to learn?”

I’ve been in the middle of these ‘volunteer-for-hire’ things before, and they rarely, if ever, turn out well. Particularly when they are last-minute scrambles that are shakily organized at best.

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Leadership, Strategic Blueprints, wispundits • October 28th, 2008

The Paul Ryan factor

by Chris Lato

Does U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan have his eye on higher office?

He’d better. Ryan is one of the brightest stars for the Wisconsin GOP right now. He’s young, bright, articulate, telegenic, well-liked in Republican circles and a conservative true believer who appeals to the blue collar constituents that make up a large portion of his 1^st District base.

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2008 Primaries, Events, Promotions, Speeches, Strategic Blueprints • October 21st, 2008

Battleground state no more?

by Chris Lato

In another sign that Wisconsin is losing its ‘battleground state’ status, Barack Obama has cancelled an upcoming campaign appearance in Madison – where he surely would have been greeted as a soon-to-be-conquering hero.

The campaign has offered an excuse (sick grandmother) – and of course, we wish the Obama family well.  But, you know, read between the lines here.

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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, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • September 5th, 2008

A taxing question in Milwaukee County

by Chris Lato

This November 4, voters in Milwaukee County will have their say on whether the county should triple the county sales tax to 1.5% ‘to fund parks, transit and provide property tax relief.’ Hmmm……

This article lays out the issue. Essentially, County Executive Scott Walker fought the tax idea but was outgunned by the County Board. Walker has positioned himself as a fiscal conservative, and there’s no way he could be seen as endorsing this tax hike. He was criticized by some for ‘denying the voters a choice.’

(BTW - maybe I’m crazy, but in the middle of an economic downturn, does a sales tax hike really have a snowball’s chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of actually getting voter approval?)

We all know the economy is going to be one of the driving issues this November. The voters will now get their say and the tax referendum will be a red-hot issue. It will likely drive turnout even higher than already-high expectations.

And that has the potential to benefit John McCain.

With a tax hike referendum on the ballot, there will undoubtedly be voters spurred to go to the polls to defeat this referendum. And, since McCain is positioned as the tax-cutter compared to Barack Obama, the perceived tax-hiker, can McCain enjoy some boost in Wisconsin’s biggest county? For those voters who are compelled to vote based on their frustration over high taxes alone, the tax referendum could ding Obama’s vote tally in Milwaukee County.

If McCain’s team moves taxes right to the top of the issues being discussed in that county, and bundles it up with the tax referendum issue, then that offers one way to move numbers in their direction.

As an aside, McCain and running mate Sarah Palin are in Wisconsin this morning, the night after McCain delivered his convention-closing speech at the RNC. It’s fun to be a state in play, isn’t it?

As for McCain’s speech, I spent a chunk of it feeling underwhelmed. A lot of the address sounded like GOP boilerplate, and the efforts to single out American families that McCain would be ‘fighting for’ felt ham-fisted. No home runs, but no errors either. Safe and middle of the road, for the most part.

But as McCain discussed his life experience and his time as a POW, the speech really took hold. For those who were getting a sense of McCain for the first time, the closing minutes of the speech drew a connection between the man and the candidate, painting an affecting portrait of why he is in this race.

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Events, Speeches, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • August 29th, 2008

DNC: A wrap-up

by Chris Lato

History was made this week, and that alone is worthy of acknowledgement. Barack Obama is America’s first black major-party nominee for President. Respect and praise are due. Congratulations to Senator Obama.

As for Obama’s speech last night, was there ever any doubt that Obama could deliver the goods? The words were a combination of bromides, some substance, and a surprising number of shots across the bow directed at John McCain. The pressure to start hitting back at McCain has clearly rattled Team Obama. Politics is politics, after all – despite the claims by some that they are above political gamesmanship. At some point, Obama had to engage, and he chose to do so before an audience of 30 million. It will be interesting to watch the response, particularly in terms of the size of the poll bump Obama will enjoy.

If anything, it could be said that Obama was a victim of his handlers’ hubris. The stage from which Obama spoke, a sort of Parthenon-meets-West-Wing thing that, amazingly, erupts in fireworks at the end of speeches, was a glitzy and perhaps overreaching touch. The spectacle, with 80,000-plus in a big stadium, could be seen as a continuation of the ‘celebrity’ positioning that Obama enjoys, and McCain has criticized as being shallow.

Increasingly, the race is centering on a Big Theme: Change vs. Experience. By any reasonable measure, Obama has enjoyed a meteoric rise with a fairly thin resume but far less baggage as ‘just another politician’ (although a major party candidate, by definition, is a politician no matter how you try to spin it). Meanwhile, McCain has decades of experience as a legislator, but could be broadly painted with the ‘Washington insider’ brush.

Next up – the GOP gets its turn, starting today with McCain’s choice for VP. (CNBC says it’s Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska.) It will either be a brilliant choice or a huge disappointment. I don’t see much room for in-between on this one.

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Strategic Blueprints, Views on News, public relations • July 22nd, 2008

The cookie crumbles

by Chris Lato

What a public relations nightmare.

When Midwest Airlines does PR well, the company does it very well. The idea of Milwaukee’s hometown airline, the chocolate-chip cookies on the flight, the overall high quality of service (at least in my experience) – the company has built up a lot of goodwill and has generally delivered on its promises and reputation. In southeast Wisconsin, the public has a warm-and-fuzzy feeling about Midwest. If I have a choice in airline, Midwest has always been #1 for me.

But the current crisis looks bad, making the company appear unprepared to deal with an avalanche of calls from confused or angry customers. That goodwill is eroding fast.

As a reporter at WTMJ last year, I was one of a number of staffers writing about the attempted takeover of Midwest by AirTran. The company mounted a smart and spirited defense in the face of AirTran’s bid, started a ‘Save the Cookie’ campaign and in my experience managed the situation well by always being available to update reporters and commentators.

The company ended up being bought by investors with ties to Northwest Airlines, which I and others I know have had disastrous experiences with. What, exactly, was worth saving here? In the face of disastrous PR, slashed flights, a steep decline in service, and the specter of bankruptcy looming, the question becomes: was Midwest really worth ‘saving’ in its present form?

I realize high gas prices and an overall drop in the economy are key factors here – although some say the company has been mismanaged for a while and failed to invest in more fuel-efficient planes when it had the chance. The bottom line is that Midwest is hurting and that’s not good news for Wisconsin. Miller moved its highest-paying jobs out of Milwaukee, GM is ramping up its timetable to shut down the Janesville plant early…the list of bad news keeps growing. We all feel for the employees whose jobs are being cut, and again, Midwest has been a quality airline until now. It would be a shame to see this decline continue.

Hopefully this is a blip on the radar. But one wishes Midwest had put as much thought into service and corresponding public relations in the face of this crisis as it did when it was trying to keep AirTran at bay.

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Strategic Blueprints • July 1st, 2008

And the best candidate for vice-president is…

by Chris Lato

You’ll never believe this. Or maybe you will. At first blush it seemed ridiculous, but upon reflection it makes some sense.

Colin Powell for Vice President? For BOTH McCain and Obama? This story offers a fascinating, if egg-headed way of reaching this conclusion. His is the one name that hasn’t really been on the radar screen until now. Perhaps Powell paid for the study?

But consider: Powell is seen as a moderate who can work from the middle to achieve consensus. And while he has been tied to GOP administrations and his initial support of the current Iraq war, he offers the ‘elder statesman’ heft that Obama needs, and a moderating influence for those ‘McSame’ critics who believe McCain is little more than a war-monger in the Bush mold. He’d be a pretty strong pick for either one, if you believe (as I do) that the VP choice matters more in the 2008 cycle than it has in the past. more »

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