A lot of Attention

This week, FOX News reported that Obama and Bill Clinton will be campaigning together for the first time in Orlando Wednesday. Although the move may be very positive from an Obama strategist's perspective, my immediate thought was that the move could drive a little negativity from voters who don't think so highly of Bill Clinton. And no, I'm not talking about Monica Lawinskey. 

In a sense, some voters view Bill Clinton as an old-time Democrat, someone who has already spent a lot of time in the White House. And, for those who didn't agree with Clinton politics, they may not appreciate the campaign effort from Clinton--especially since he questioned a lot of Obama's qualifications during the primary race between his Mrs. and Barack himself. However, this view is just a generalization. There's no saying that the move could not be a good thing for the Obama campaign. As FOX said, the move will probably at least give the Obama campaign a "boost in media coverage" during these final days leading up to the election. And naturally, who better to be talking up Obama than a former president of the United States? Overall, Clinton will probably contribute to some positive coverage of Obama as his campaign and McCain's battle it out in final days. 

However, on the other hand, negative coverage concerning vice presidential candidate Joe Biden probably wasn't such a good thing for the Obama campaign. FOX News reported Saturday that the Obama campaign cut off an interview with a Florida TV Station because of tough questions from an Orlando reporter. I don't blame Joe Biden for telling reporter Barbara West from WFTV to "get real here," but I'm sure that's not the tone and attitude the Obama strategists wanted him to take on live television. Whether or not the reporter was trying to get Biden fired up, Obama strategists were probably shaking their heads when Biden asked the reporter, "Are you joking?" I don't care what kind of situation Biden was placed in or what kind of question was asked; I'm sure testing the waters of sarcasm was not the best answer. 

As we've discussed in class, strategists can only prepare a candidate for speaking points to a certain extent. They can train them on what to say and how to say it; they can rehearse the tone time after time; they can review general talking points 100 times. However, it's ultimately the candidate's live performance that is recorded, and unfortunately the only one that matters. The interview was not the only instance when the media played up Biden's heated attitude and aggressive tone; the media coverage of Biden in the vice presidential debate also criticized his tone prior to the debate and at certain points in the post-debate coverage. 

For a recap of how the interview went, please see the video above. 

Questions or concerns? Please drop me an e-mail at aliviacnuzzo@gmail.com or post a comment below.