Saturday, July 01, 2006

Throwing Rocks from the Front Porch

Someone told me that Cathy's newest ad is a far cry from the rocking chair on the front porch- more like throwing rocks from the front porch. In the country, I guess that's what you do when there's a big ol' mean dog in the yard. I wish this race were not a "street fight", but it is. Many people predicted that if the race got nasty, it would favor Taylor because they thought he was better at trench warfare. I don't think that prediction has proven true. Cox turning the "Big Guy" label from a positive to a negative has been far more effective than any response Taylor has had so far. Cox won this round, and it is showing in both the polls and the momentum in the race. Last week, Taylor tried to morph "Big Guy" into "Tough Guy" in the AJC piece. That got no traction, leaving Taylor in the quicksand. If he doesn't find a foothold soon, the race belongs to Cox. Game, set, match.

The very best example I have ever seen of a candidate taking an opponent's positive and turning it to a negative actually happened here in Middle Georgia. A candidate's whose last name was Lovett ran an ad that ended with "You've Gotta Love It." Big mistake. His opponent countered with "Love It? I Don't Even Like it!" You can guess the end of that story. Cathy making Big Guy a negative and offering the "Fat Cat" alternative may be just as effective.

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1 comment:

Tina said...

You don't take a fly swatter to a pit bull, and you can't be so smooth that you roll when pushed.
No one ever got to a governor's desk without having to make some strong moves...both defensive and, when called for, offensive. The Atlanta pundits should not underestimate Cox's populist appeal. It's there, and it's growing.