(H/T: Instapundit) Gail Sheehy, in the middle of resolutely not thinking about the wider implications of the President’s inability to sell out tickets to bathe in his glory, even at half off (and with an open bar, no less):
When the Hillary and Obama presidential campaigns merged in July 2008, members of Obama’s National Finance Committee were anxious to know how the Clintons held most of their loyal contributors from ’92 to 2008. The Clinton people divulged the secret of long-term loyalty—feed their brains as well as their egos, continually. It now appears the Clintons’ formula has been steadily ignored by the Obama team.
Either that, or they just don’t know how to actually use the formula properly. Even when the Obama administration was the Obama campaign, they weren’t particularly good at making people go where they actively didn’t want to go. Take advantage of the populace’s eagerness to make a lofty political statement? Sure, they could do that; but sweetening the reluctant and the hesitant was never anything that these people needed to do to win, so it’s not surprising to hear that they’re so bad at it.
Well, not surprising to me.
Moe Lane
PS: It’s Van Hollen, actually. The head of the DCCC is Chris Van Hollen. It’s a little mean-spirited of me to point out that typo, but politics ain’t beanbag. It’s also pretty funny that the man’s so forgettable that not even his own side’s partisans can remember his name.
PPS: I will happily endorse the idea of more open bars at political functions. Also: nothing says ‘respect for the local institutions that make this country great’ like ‘regional microbrews on tap.’
Another example of they ain’t all that smaaaht after all.
Regards,
Ric