Clark's Brilliant Announcement Strategy

Most of us know about the USAT/CNN/etc. poll that places Clark at 9%, and some of us have been quite buoyed by it. I'm thinking that the numbers for Clark are going to be even better than some might think.

My impression is that quite a few people in the Democratic base, even when presented explicitly with the option of Clark as President, still aren't taking him seriously until he actually DOES declare. Most Democrats are not obsessing over every little piece of political news, like most of us (arguably a good thing). ;-)

These Democrats will PAY ATTENTION if and when the General announces, and they will come over to his camp as soon as they hear about his stellar resume and listen to him speak.

To that end, my thought is that the General's strategy so far has been absolutely brilliant. EVERYONE is buzzing about the "will he or won't he" aspect of his proto-campaign. He is the talk of the town, the interesting story the media love to run. Without a dime, he's gotten all of this exposure, nearly all of it (minus the RW hack jobs) positive because as a FOUNDATION for each of these stories is an introduction of WHO Wesley Clark is, and as many of us would agree, the General's biography is one of his most powerful "selling" points.

He should continue to stretch it out, IMO. Today at his speech in Tennessee, he should announce a firm date for WHEN he will announce. "I will be holding a press conference to announce my decision on September ___." Then maybe he hits the Sunday talk show circuit tomorrow (and even if he doesn't, he's still a topic of discussion during those talk shows).

This goes on for a couple of days, and then he actually DOES announce. Wednesday, September 17 has been floated by some insiders as "the" date, and I think that's perfect. That story becomes the BIG news that gets plastered all over the media mid-week, and continues for the rest of the week, then he delivers a KICK-ASS speech in Iowa on the 19th which again revs up interest and attention through the weekend and its talk shows.

Then he comes out of the gate strong through the rest of September, announcing campaign staff, putting out position papers, hopefully (as a Clark partisan, anyway) outdoing the rest of the field in the September 25 debates, and so on.

I originally thought that the General would become the front-runner for the Dem nomination within 60 days or so of his announcement. Now I'm actually starting to believe it could happen by as soon as the END OF SEPTEMBER.

Just some random thoughts.

DTH

He needs to declare, people will be real turned off if he keeps playing with this. Americans are not a patient lot. Cut it out Now!, my advice announce tommorrow or Monday.

And most people aren't following this closely, so it's people hardcore politicos who are getting impatient.

And the anger at his delay will almost certainly dissipate if and when he actually does declare.

Setting a firm date for the press conference is a step forward. I don't think four more days is too long to wait for IMO the most compelling and powerful candidate in the field.

DTH

around also opens up attacks from the media, charges of being wishy washy, etc. The fact that 10% shows up shows that Dem primary voters are paying attention now.

And again, I don't think four days is going to piss anyone off to the point of refusing to consider Clark. I also don't think the media will be able to adopt an "indecisive Clark" meme in the next four days, either (but I could be wrong).

DTH

I'm not sure yet where he intends to be at that time but my guess is he will announce from his hometown of Little Rock. So sorry, but you will have to wait just a couple days longer than you wanted to.

If I'm not mistaken, Clark polls at 10 percent in that poll, not 9. It's not a big difference, obviously, but I like the sound of double digits better!

There was some confusion about that. Originally people said 10%, then I heard some report 9, then others report 10 again. Hard to say. Anwyay, when Dove said "stretch it out," he was only talking about until mid-week, most likely Wednesday. If he tells us when he will announce right around now, and it's very soon, then I don't think a lack of patience is anything we'll have to worry about.

Sorry if I conveyed the wrong impression about "stretching it out." It's more accurate to say "decisions made to maximize the press coverage" perhaps.

DTH

straight off http://www.pollingreport.com

I didn't see it anywhere else.

I'll take 10% over 9% any day. :-)

DTH

I would like to see him announce something soon. I agree his numbers will go up as his campaighn hits it stride. This primary is going to be very different then previous ones. I can see a lot of independents and voters who don't typically vote participating and this will help Clark.

to see if anything was gonna happen, I just moved on.

I don't mind if he wants to jerk America around waiting on his "momentous" decision really, what I do mind is how it mucks things up for all the other candidates who are trying to get their message out.

I'm starting to wonder if the General is more concerned about the General than in winning the election for a Democratic candidate.

and those that are intrested in getting a new President will think if Clark continues to drag this thing out. Why have to overcome something you don't need to overcome? He has already got what he needed from the speculation surronding his "run." 10% already saying they back him that is good, make that beyond excellent for a undeclared cand. Sharpiro in US Today has already pointed out that this pussy footing around is starting to turn people off a couple of weeks ago. People will respect decisiveness, they don't need this to drag out.

So today you don't know what you missed, or if it was worth a longer wait?

Clark could be just toying with KKKarl, a probe here, a feint there, making the enemy a patsy or a basket case.

I didn't think of him as jerking people around, or denying others the right to get out their message. I don't feel that way about Clark either. I would like to have him announce his intentions today, and then hit the talk shows Sunday. Of course, he hasn't asked me to run his campaign yet either.

why is he waiting? Is it something about financial reporting deadlines?

People have bandied about the September 15 date as significant with respect to financial reporting, but I think that's a misstatement; my understanding is that Q3 ends at the end of September, and the reporting deadline is October 15.

My feeling is that he is generally unsure about running, first and foremost; and that in keeping with his "parallel tracks" line of thinking, if he does decide to run, I think he knows that maximizing the exposure from that run is the best way to do well.

DTH

because that is a reporting deadline.

he is making his decision exactly on the timeline he first stated. Imagine that! Doing exactly what he said he would do.

I think his remarks in August cited "a couple of weeks," and accordingly he's about a week or 1.5 weeks behind schedule.

I of course have no problem with a slightly revised schedule, however, so long as he runs! :D

DTH

The Salon article had an excellent point the other day.

Will Clark's hand-selected campaign team and the managers of his grassroots movement work well together?

How will they merge? Will the grassroots people who have been calling the shots until now submit easily when they don't agree with one of the Clark-hired managers?

The next few weeks are going to be interesting.

These are positive, too, since one must engage the enemy in order to destroy him. Repukes flailing at Clark, a la the Ham and Scarboy, can tip indies and mod R's to us, since Clark is so good at return fire.

And, more like thirty days. System generation and system effects always take longer than a shortest route projection. I guess.

Just being optimistic about the end of September. :-)

DTH

"Pessimism of the mind, but optimism of the will."
Antonio Gramsci

where I have been "cautious." :D

I'm good within a close range of an election. For instance, I knew that bush would steal the election. I really did. If you're good enough to call this one this early, I will gladly bow to your superior punditry. :yourock:

And it really doesn't need more inflating!

:evilgrin:

We'll see. I'm just hoping he gets in the race, and soon! The particulars of it mean a lot less to me, so long as he runs! :-)

And btw...

:yourock:

DTH

If he sets a firm date for an announcement, rove will be prepared to act. Think about it...they are monsters at governing, but masters at stepping on the news.

Thus, while a hyped moment would be good in most cases, it might be better to use surprize. At this point, Clark must have some media following him around or at least have set up an instant conduit. Even then, it will be interesting to see the return fire. I don't think many on this board still "get" it. Rove wants the option to chose bushco's opponent, and without a challenger from the right, they have all the time and much of the means to do just that. Think 1972...

Currently, they have been testing him to see what the response time and technics will look like. He has done well this week. I just hope he understands that this is an exercise in "Winning a Modern War" and remembers all he knows.

It is time to end the friendly fire incidents; it is time understand that Clark is not your enemy. No matter who your current candidate is, understand this: the rightwing wants to elect their chosen monkey and your opinions don't mean shit to them.

Right on, Donna Zen! :-)

I think it will be an interesting decision for Clark, to gauge the benefit he receives from more hype and exposure this week, against the possibility of a Rove dirty trick.

Perhaps if his rapid response network is as good as I'm hoping, he can do the "set a firm date" thing and then be ready to bat back any Rovian smear that emerges on or around that date!

DTH

I believe the announcement will come with barely any warning. Probably mid-day...An over night buzz would give rove time to act. We will hear about it at noon, then he comes on before the evening news. Rove will act before the next morning, maybe using the Asian press. Hopefully, Clark will have prepared something to counter rove even before this hits and sticks.

He may have changed his power suit, but I don't think he's changed his mind.

If_if_ he doesn't run, it will only be because he cannot find the support to be successful against the rightwing attack at this point, and sees his better role as a guerilla sideline's fighter. He's not showing any cards, names barely leak out, making any of this hard to gauge.

One thing I do ab-so-fuck-in-lutely believe, he sees bush as the enemy and considering our troops dying everyday in some fucked up Neo-con power grab, probably more than we do.

But I'll bet KKKarl's bowels are twisting and churning.

And I fully expect KKKarl will be a crispy critter in the ditch before year's end.

Rove will be harder for us to catch than bin forgotten.

His hubris and hand-over-playing remain unchecked. He has already exposed himself to a felony charge. He has only limited control over a tiny few of the events among the myriad that inform public consciousness.

He has not learned that Newton's Third Law of Motion applies to his business, too, as Lee Atwater learned toward the end.

OK, by New Hampshire at the latest. The farther into the season he goes, the closer to election day, the more mortal will be the spillover on to Dim Son.

to see if there is a last minute press conference, a change upward in the Terra Alert or some other Rovian distration planned to dilute Clark's announcement. It would be so obvious, but they do fall back on the obvious since it works so well for them.

MzPip
:dem:

Surprise them. Forget this firm date stuff. Announce tomorrow!! take them by surprise. Sunday is day when we are supposed to reflect on the week news. Take them by surprise.
On edits thought I spelled suprise wrong the first time, but did not, when in doubt I don't trust my spelling

Stop ragging on the guy. When Bill Clinton entered the '92 race at this point, I don't recall anyone castigating him for delaying. Give Clark a break. If delay is a part of his strategizing, so be it. It's his campaign, right?

he were to actually ANNOUNCE tonight in Tennessee?

That would catch Rove and everyone else totally flatfooted.

IMO, it's more important to keep the home fires burning and respect his state.

DTH

n/t

Originally when I heard he had accepted the invitation I had hoped that would be it. But with the pig roast going on and timing, after six on the weekend, I'm inclined to sit back.

When we were discussing Bev's release on BBV, some media Duers chimed in that Tues. or Thurs. is the best day. Rove will react, Clark's entering forces them to change their entire campaign strategy: bush at war. Without it the fear mongering of "don't trust your country to a know-nothing anti-military spineless Democrat" they must come to us: the economy, healthcare, etc.

Clark has several speaking engagements planned this week and could use anyone of them including the introduction of his company's electric-fuel cell bike. I do think Little Rock is the best location but the Vietnam Memorial would make me just as happy.

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I love your insights. Watching this unfold is engrossing.

My Dem/liberal once in the military brother in law was a much harder sell than my Rep. sister. She hates what is happening to her country and the Christian right scares the bejeezus out of her, crossing the street for Clark took a nano second. With my brother in law I had to say "trust me."

I had my doubts at first too, but just listening to him speak allowed me to see past the blinding glare of the stars on his shoulders.

I cannot remember the last time I was this energized about a candidate. I literally had butterflies in my stomach when the AP started reporting that Clark would run.

If anyone could overcome the hurdle of "the general thing" in the face of the Democratic Party, it's Wesley. I believe in him, and soon, many more of us will.

He wouldn't get maximum media exposure during the weekend.

He needs to do it at about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a weekday to plant himself firmly in the news shows and morning newspapers. That timing would help spread word-of-mouth among the cybersurfing office crowd as well.

I agree that Clark's strategy has been brilliant thus far. When running against 9 other Democrats, it's difficult to get yourself heard, and near impossible to get your message out unless you're one of the frontrunners.

By being coy about his announcement, Clark has managed to have media attention and curiosity focused on him and him only. Every time he shows up on television these days, they shamelessly plug the event beforehand with "will he announce?" graphics and promos, enticing viewers to tune in and possibly catch a little breaking news. Of course, each time he ends up saying he has hasn't decided yet, but not before getting his message and general platform out to anyone who's watching.

Anyone who was concerned about Clark's lack of political experience should be blown away by his savvy so far. I know I have been.

Run Wesley Run,
Jennifer (all eyes on Tennessee tonight!)

>>Anyone who was concerned about Clark's lack of political experience should be blown away by his savvy so far. I know I have been.<<

I agree. But I also suspect he's had some help from Bill.

I totally see the Clintons supporting Clark, and in a big way. I do not believe that Clark will have money problems, even starting "late" as he is!

DTH

I think the old Gazette Building is vacant now ...

;-)

mentioned above - but one unintended wonderful consequence - Karl Rove is in a state of suspended panic. The panic button will be pushed on announcement day - Bush implosion shortly thereafter.

Bush under 50 percent so that plus the announcement of his candidacy would be a PR nightmare for Rove.

For all of Dumbya's problems, rove must be a little bored right now watching the Dems taking shots at each other. Besides he's been considering his best move to change the subject: Hey, 'murika (you stupid fucks) look over there! And Rove leaves no finger prints...that's what his minions are for.

I still think he'll make a play. Its so easy. Will it be "Homeland inSecurity," terra-terra, Kay says "okay" we've got evidence of evidence of non-evidence, or Asscrap nabs a cell of evil-doers? And he does not care if it is true.

Or maybe he goes for the personal: Wesley eats funny food, Wesley has another woman (oooow how they like that one) Wesley is looney (read Geo Will) or Wesley pissed in someone roses 40 years ago. Eventually they will go personal, to the point that anyone who opposes them will think they are seeing a monster looking back at them in the mirror in the morning.

Gert maybe right about this. Seeing the shit hit this board will be the worst part.

I think it's pretty clear from the "lowering of expectations" tactic used by Powell, Rice and Rumsfeld earlier this week that the forthcoming David Kay report is crap, and now Paul "The Witch King" Wolfowitz has gone on-record as saying there's no Iraq-Al Qaeda link, so I expect the WMD thingie to go away but quick. It's not working for them, and they are well aware of that.

As far as catching a cell of terrorists, well, anything short of Bin Laden at this point would mean nothing to most Americans. Hell, they killed Hussein's sons and Bush's poll numbers continued the downward trend. Again, it's not working for them, and they are well aware of that.

I'm sure they're digging through every single town Clark was ever posted at to find some woman to come forward with his alleged love child. This is the tactic that does work for them, and they are well aware of that.

I fear an October 2004 surprise of chilling proportions, but then again, I expected one from Bush I in '92, yet he pretty much rolled over and played dead.

Not knowing what they'll do is killing me...!

As the October Surprise.

Iran or North Korea or even Syria, take your pick.

:scared:

DTH

bush I had to lose in 92' because Weinburger had been caught with some goods in his safe and wasn't about to take the fall. Therefore, 41 had to issue pardons and get out of town.

While it sounds rather speculative at best, somehow there are pieces that fall into place when you think about it. That was a poorly run campaign and included a tired looking bush with some heart thingy going on. <tapping chin>

Pardons before convictions?

A trick he learned from Ford.

Look for a record-setting number of pardons and pre-pardons in December, 2004.

It would give me an even better reason to celebrate my 42nd birthday. It took me awhile, but I am now a firm Clark supporter (but not because he may announce on my birthday!).

Tick tock, tick tock.

They showed the Gallup Poll that put him at 10% with Gep in the lead at 16% (I believe). He's right there with all the leaders. They (the left side of the panel) said it was an indication of how WEAK our candidates are that the people are gravitating so fast to someone else!! I guess we get lost in our own little world and think how marvelous our candidate is; ie., setting the world on fire and all. Technically, if this was the case, a "possible" other candidate wouldn't even register on the scale. Don't get complacent thinking we are, as yet, getting through even the first layer of this nation's wax impacted ears!!!!!!!!!!!!