Two Moves. One Smart. One Dumb.
A couple events of the past few days worth noting for those interested in political careers.
Smart Move. Obama’s outreach to conservative journalists. (See more about handling reporters in Lesson Six.) Obama spent serious time with them, and according to Kudlow, impressed all with his wit and intelligence. Will it help? Maybe. Maybe not. But it can’t hurt. Perhaps most important, judging from Kudlow’s gushing remarks, Obama went prepared and was not afraid to ask and answer questions.
Dumb Move. Caroline Kennedy’s debut and botched interviews with the media. In trying to convince a New York Governor that she was Senate material, Ms. Caroline first tried bopping into and out of private meetings with NY pols without talking to the media. When the pressure came, she met with reporters. She looked bad, sounded tentative, could not tell anyone why she wanted to be a Senator or what she wanted to do with the job. (see more about this is Lesson One) About all she could say, between the irritating ‘you know’s’ was that she has always been interested in public service. That is not a qualification to hold public office. Gov Patterson will soon name a replacement. If she still gets the nod it will be in spite of his dismal performance in public, not because of it. A month ago, two respected polltakers in New York said Ms. Kennedy was the people’s choice. This past week two polls now name Andrew Cuomo the public’s choice. Ms. Caroline’s stumbling had everything to do with her reversal of fortune.
