[Speed Gibson,
Sunday September 24, 2006 at 1:00am]
The Timing is Important
I was ready to "move on" regarding the Klobuchar campaign receiving advance copies of Kennedy ads. I still will be surprised if this story continues much longer.
But after listening to the NARN, hour 5, I am now bothered by a number of minor points. One is, did the Klobuchar campaign really let the Kennedy campaign know on Wednesday? Apparently the press knew about it first, and had called Kennedy's campaign manager for reaction before the notification came.
Second, the notification was done in a most curious way, calling for an e-Mail address, then sending the later that day. And again, if the press knew first, what's the point?
Third, why was this handled at the campaign manager level? Klobuchar should have called Kennedy personally, no later than Monday when she fired her Communications Director. This would have been the adult thing to do, but apparently plausible deniability was more important.
I really don't need to know more of the details. The Kennedy campaign's primary beef should be with the agency that had insufficient security. Amy Klobuchar's response was less than required, maybe just due to inexperience, but regardless, let's move on.
Kennedy is behind, maybe 6-10 points by reputable polls. He's not going to close that gap unless Klobuchar has orchestrated a sizable cover up, which I doubt. He should move on, too, and return to taking advantage of Klobuchar's obvious inexperience on national issues.
In fact, why not have a little fun with this, as with his current radio ads? "I'm Mark Kennedy. The Klobuchar campaign saw an advance copy already and didn't object so I approved this message."
But after listening to the NARN, hour 5, I am now bothered by a number of minor points. One is, did the Klobuchar campaign really let the Kennedy campaign know on Wednesday? Apparently the press knew about it first, and had called Kennedy's campaign manager for reaction before the notification came.
Second, the notification was done in a most curious way, calling for an e-Mail address, then sending the later that day. And again, if the press knew first, what's the point?
Third, why was this handled at the campaign manager level? Klobuchar should have called Kennedy personally, no later than Monday when she fired her Communications Director. This would have been the adult thing to do, but apparently plausible deniability was more important.
I really don't need to know more of the details. The Kennedy campaign's primary beef should be with the agency that had insufficient security. Amy Klobuchar's response was less than required, maybe just due to inexperience, but regardless, let's move on.
Kennedy is behind, maybe 6-10 points by reputable polls. He's not going to close that gap unless Klobuchar has orchestrated a sizable cover up, which I doubt. He should move on, too, and return to taking advantage of Klobuchar's obvious inexperience on national issues.
In fact, why not have a little fun with this, as with his current radio ads? "I'm Mark Kennedy. The Klobuchar campaign saw an advance copy already and didn't object so I approved this message."