Reply #181: Why?

[Deep13]

Frankly, neither candidate has much of a chance in purely rural Ohio. Such folks are very, very conservative and Dewine's positions on so-called traditional values will have them sown up. Maybe your folks are an exception, but I never have put much stock in anecdotal evidence. Nevertheless, the northeast is where the bulk of the population is. I have spent the previous 14 years of my life here, all as an adult, and the lesson I have learned is that the sales pitch is more important than the product. Compare Bush and Gore. Which was the better product? Can there be any real disagreement there? Nevertheless, the sales pitch and ad campaign won Ohio in 2000 for Dubya and maybe in 2004. I am not suggesting that either Ohio candidate is a "Bush".

How will Hackett deal with the corrupt and entrenched R propoganda machine here? Will he have the experience and insight to dodge it effectively or will he make the fatal mistake of making the campaign tactics of the enemy an issue? If the Rs can turn Kerry into a traitor and Bush into a working class hero, they can certainly make Hackett into a .

Do not suppose that Sherrod is another Gore or Kerry. He will not make their mistakes and never has. Frankly Sherrod has an instinctive understanding of campaign strategy and management. He is aggressive and relentless. Also, he will do it in a way to avoid offending wishy-washy swing voters. The "chicken hawk" type remarks won Hackett praise among Ds, but it turned off a lot swing voters who do not accept that Dubya is basically evil and who assume any president deserves a modicum of respect. "What?! The Rs denegrate us all the time. Are the rules different for them?!" You know that they are. The Rs own the media.