Yes, I’m joining the tidal wave of operatives, pundits, arm-chair quarterbacks and average Joes who are offering unsolicited advice for tonight’s debate. And I’m addressing this directly to you, Governor.
Candidly, we’re worried.
The economy is deteriorating, the national debt is exploding, unemployment is enduring and wages are shrinking. Any other sitting President with this record would have long ago been consigned to electoral rejection, but President Obama leads you.
Perhaps worse, while this may be the most important election since 1860, there is still a lingering “tweedle-dee/tweedle-dum” quality to the contest. According to Rasmussen Reports, of those voters who remain undecided, the most striking characteristic is that these voters see little difference between you and President Obama, despite what is one of the most obvious choices in modern American history.
Fact facing requires that we acknowledge that, despite the best of intentions, your campaign thus far has failed to make the required distinction with the President. The risk here is that if voters don’t feel there is a real choice, they will likely favor the devil they know over the devil they don’t.
That is bad for you.
So tonight is a precious opportunity. Perhaps the last, best chance to correct a badly distorted picture of you and your goals, and to create a new narrative that will power the campaign with bold colors until November 6th.
Thusly, some unsolicited advice on how to make the debate work for you:
Play to Your Strengths: voters don’t see you as a sympathetic figure, or in touch with their dinner table concerns. But your attempts to fix this through empathetic statements on the stump haven’t fixed the problem. No matter how well meaning, your public, emotive self lacks authenticity. And at this point in the campaign, its wasted effort. You are not going to out emote Barack Obama, so stop trying.
Your core strength is your superior background as a private sector business leader and governor. You are an economic literate, a turnaround expert at a time when the nation desperately needs a Mr. Fix-It. The President has theories that have gotten us into deeper trouble – you have a record of demonstrated success. Let the American people see that.
If there was ever a time to lay out your plan boldly, now is it.
The best way to do this in 90 minutes is to talk about the range of Obama policy failures in the context of your specific solutions. This compare and contrast method will not only provide a clear definition of your plans in light of POTUS’ shortcomings, but it will also shine a bright light on the half truths and distortions of your record and plans that have kept the President afloat. Moreover, it is also the best way for you to connect with voter concerns on terrain that is comfortable, tangible cost/effect with a pocketbook focus.
Don’t be Mad, be Disappointed: a lot of Americans like President Obama, including those who believe that his policies have failed. For that reason, direct, partisan attacks are likely to backfire. The better way is to treat the President with every respect that the office requires, and to cast your critique as disappointment; a young, idealist man who rose too quickly and assumed a job for he was unqualified for, with a failed record to show for it. To do this, use modifiers such as, “I know the President has meant well, but…” followed by Obama’s promises of 2008 and results today.
Also, during the primaries, you often looked at your opponents as they spoke. It not only unnerved those closest to you on stage, but it also provided a window into you – a sly smile at a rhetorical flub, or the compassion you showed Rick Perry when he couldn’t remember the departments he would eliminate.
That would work tonight in softening rough edges. Better, not only will it play with undecideds, it will infuriate the President and his colossal ego. So long as the disappointment does not bleed into condescension, you’re on solid ground.
Remember the President’s View: the presidency is probably the only office that could tangibly define the extent of Barack Obama’s ego. Define it, mind you, not capture it.
Now, four years in, surrounded by the regal trappings of power and a battalion of “yes men,” venturing forth only to appreciative audiences who never utter a discouraging word, that hyper confidence and ego border on alarming hubris.
Indeed, it’s a fair guess that Obama is dumfounded that anyone but plutocrats and slum lords could support your agenda – when his is so clearly the only path – and that Barack Obama, the man, doesn’t believe you belong on that stage tonight. He certainly doesn’t think you are qualified to be President.
Best guess is that the President probably can’t wait to make short work out you, as he did with McCain.
Pent up contempt is Obama’s internal enemy, but it is your advantage. You need only ask your running mate who flummoxed the President in a respectful roundtable on healthcare. Ryan simply had a better command of the facts than the President, who was without a telepromoter or friendly audience. Pressed on the issue, Obama simply used his authority to change the topic and move on.
Point Ryan.
The better you press your case against the President’s record, and the more that this narrative pivots from Obama’s reality, the more likely you are to see the President lose his well known cool. That shows the real Obama, and America needs to see that. You will shine in comparison.
Seize Optimism: the manifold challenges ahead of us are daunting. The solutions will be difficult if not painful. The debate will explore this in detail.
The crucial ingredient here will be optimism. Who has the better plan to restore the American dream?
One of the more depressing statistics of late are the number of Americans who do not believe their children will live in a better America than they do. If we are going to turn America around, we need the American people to believe that it is possible to turn it around.
So it is not enough to just lay out your plan, but to link it to a better tomorrow. Lay undisputed claim to optimism that a successful plan breeds.
The President and his Party have had their shot. They failed.
Now it is time for someone else to lead, to solve out most intractable problems instead of kicking them down the road. To live within our means and to restore the integrity of our word. To be true to the promise of America, so that we can pass that precious birthright onto our children.
Stand that high ground and you will be in good stead tomorrow as the analysis comes in.
A final thought.
Governor, ambition and history have conspired to deliver you to this moment.
Perhaps you hoped to be rising at a different time in our nation’s history. Chester Nimitz, who had always aspired to command the Pacific Fleet, wryly observed upon taking charge after Pearl Harbor, that he assumed it would be a fleet of floating ships.
You might have that kind of feeling now. But sometimes you don’t get to pick the moment – the moment picks you.
The square fact is that if the nation is to be saved from the ravages of Obamaism, you are the last line of defense. That last stand begins tonight. The fate of a nation rests on your shoulders and how well you parry against a formidable opponent this evening.
Good luck and good hunting.