An inconvenient truth: You guys do realize you're voting between Joe Trippi, Axelrod, Penn, right?

[synesthesia]

Hey remember when Axelrod managed Edwards campaign in 2004, and he preached the 'politics of hope and change'? Remember his sunny optimism and post-partisan style?

Hey remember when Axelrod managed Obama in 2008, and he preached the politics of hope and change? Except this time the candidate was black and had a better pitch.

Hey, remember when Edwards hired Joe Trippi in 2008 and was suddenly Howard Dean 2.0? AMAZING HUH! Even the netroots love Edwards this time around, just like Dean! :)

In fact..., here's some quotes

John Edwards in 2004 - "I came here a year ago with a belief that we could change this country ... tonight we started a movement to change this country that will sweep across America."

Barack Obama in 2008 - I came here a year ago with a belief that we could change this country ... tonight we started a movement to overcome the politics of cynicism."

Coincidence right? Both campaigns managed by a one, David Axelrod


Can we discuss an 'inconvenient truth'. You guys are passionately fighting about the virtues of these candidates, staging war against each other on this forum, but really, who are you supporting.

You think you love John Edwards. The truth is, you love Trippi. In fact, if Trippi wasn't overweight and sloppy looking, he'd probably RUN HIMSELF. Same goes for the paunchy Mark Penn. That's why they have attractive candidates to 'sell the product'.

It's not that much different than when Marty Goldstein, CEO of BrandX, pays Beyonce to vouch for a product in an advertisement. It really isn't. I know you wish it was. But it isn't.

In another reality, Axelrod would have stuck with Edwards, who would be feeding red meat to independents about post-partisanship, Obama would have been an underdog insurgent who hired Trippi, and would be taking on the corporations (and be a favorite of the netroots), etc, etc.

They just hired different managers this time. All the bickering on this forum boils down to who you really think is the best marketing guru.

A very inconvenient truth.

[scheming daemons]

1. That's fine... Axelrod is kicing ass and taking names....

....I want HIM running the GE campaign...


...not Mark "Jaba the hut" Penn and his flop sweat and divide-and-conquer style.

[bidenista]

2. interesting

Didn't realize Obama's campaign was recycling Edwards lines.

So fresh! What a change!

[synesthesia]

7. haha

bidensta, Obama isn't stealing Edward's (cough, Axelrod's) line: Edwards doesn't have a line (none of them do)

they don't write their speeches or even create their messages: Svengali marketing gurus, top of the line in the world, do

Obama reads what Axelrod and Favreau put on his teleprompter, just as uh, Edwards did in 2004

Edwards now recites whatever Trippi tells him to, whatever is left over in his brain from the Dean campaign

[synesthesia]

3. *

This post inspired by reading some Edwards supporter saying she had to throw up and almost cry when Barack 'stole' Edwards phrase line by line, stole his message. Funny how that goes huh.

[librechik]

4. brilliant

welcome to DU, synesthesia.

:hi:

[bagrman]

8. Meet your new leader, same as the old. If you want change you have to vote for it.

Not what they are selling us.

[robcon]

5. Who gives a shit who the campaign managers are?

Why is that inconvenient?

[synesthesia]

10. *

It's inconvenient because you guys make heros out of these politicians. You think John Edwards had an epiphany about corporations since 2004, decided he was sick of the little guys being left out, and took on the powers that be! Yeah! That's why there's a media consipiracy to shut him out!

The inconvenient truth is, uhmm, Edwards realized he was third wheel to Obama and Hillary early on, so he hired Trippi to stage a Dean like netroots insurgency campaign.

Somewhere in a dank basement, Trippi is scheming and plotting on what buzz words will make the people on daily kos and DU salivate and send donations; he's falling into a hypoglycemic sweat from his type 2 diabetes trying to figure it out, sweating profusely, and he hatches up some rhetoric about corporations

Months later, Edwards memorizes it and works it into his stump speech, and thousands of activists fall in love with the 'new Dean, err..John', and treat him like their savior

Same goes for Obama or Hillary or anyone

[msongs]

6. each of these guys is pocketing millions $$ for themselves &/or their marketing companies nt

[MadBadger]

9. Have you ever read The Audacity of Hope? Cuz it doesnt sound like it.

[synesthesia]

12. *

I've read parts of the Barack's book. And I think he is the perfect foil or muse for Axelrod. The two of them work perfectly to bamboozle the American people, and since I'm convinced Obama is a crypto-leftist at heart, I'm glad they're as effective as they are (and support Obama, by, far, since him and Axelrod are the most effective Democratic team in decades).

But I still wouldn't be surprised if that book was ghost written. I don't care is the thing. End justifies the means and Obama is a leftist who will fool Republicans to vote for progressive causes (should he win).

Trippi and Edwards, not too effective. Hillary and Penn, too polarizing.

I just think it's silly people make Obama into their hero; he's an ambitious lawyer who's extremely smart, and a great actor, who probably has his heart in the right place (but mostly driven by ego). Like all of them.

[Orangepeel]

11. So were the candidates FORCED to hire the managers they hired?

that the candidates hired the managers blindly without knowing about their previous work?

Or, maybe the candidates hired the managers they hired because they thought those managers understood the vision they desired?

[synesthesia]

14. *

No, they weren't forced to hire their managers. But it kind of goes like this.

Obama and Axelrod have old old ties from Chicago (he has been grooming Obama for 16, yes 16 years, from an old New York times piece, they've been together since Obama was 30).

Anyways, Obama's narrative has been being written by David for decades, slightly tweaked here and there for different audiences.

Edwards 'borrowed' him in 2004, since they were both rising stars (Edwards a pol, David as a campaign guy).

Edwards couldn't run a optimistic campaign in 2008 though. His poll numbers told him he was way behind Hillary and Obama, which is when he brought Trippi in. Trippi is good with under-dog campaigns, and that's all he can really do.

Their status on the totem poll dictates their choices. If Edwards had been a front runner, he wouldn't have run a populist netroots campaign.

Anyways, Axelrod is more loyal to Obama than Edwards, and he was 'taken', this time around. So Edwards didn't have much of a choice.

[LordJFT]

13. not at all, I base my decision largely on voting record

Trippi and Penn didn' t vote for the IWR, Clinton and Edwards did.

[synesthesia]

17. *

Yeah, but I doubt Hillary votes for anything without her pollster telling her some data on it. Prob has the final say in the matter herself, but come on....

Obama made that speech against the war because he's a really smart guy. I think he realized Bush and co. were marauding pirates/parasites who only wanted to profit 'the complex', and the war would be a disaster in a few years and actually designed to be a disaster (increases profits for certain sectors), so opposing it was a smart move.

I also think he would have voted against it had he been in the Senate (Durbin did, same state). He strikes me as extremely intelligent and good at predicting the future. But that's not really relevant to the point.

I do think Obama is smarter than the other two running, in terms of raw IQ and such, which is a valid reason to vote for someone. But that's a different tangent.

[Straight Shooter]

15. Ted Sorenson, JFK's speechwriter, is Barack's speechwriter.

Waiting for rebuttal, 1, 2, 3 ... but, but, but "Obama writes his own speeches and/or contributes to them."

Yes, I know that. But the soaring "Dr. Feelgood" rhetoric is honed to razor sharpness by Sorenson.

ETA: I knew Edwards was sunk when I learned Trippi was his CM. Trippi is a jinx.

[synesthesia]

18. trippi

Trippi is no jinx. Trippi is very very very very good.

Trippi is so good, he has this entire forum convinced a guy who co-sponsored the IWR and voted for trade relations with China is the great liberal hope! That's impressive.

The makeover he's done on Edwards is A++. I give him 5 stars. But he was up against Hillary and Obama. Obama (the team, not Obama) being the best political force in decades. What could he do?

It's amazing he got Edwards into 10% range in any state given his previous voting record. He did his best.

As for Dean. Dean was a very very short guy: Short guys never win elections. In the back of people's mind, they see weakness. He got Dean as close as anyone could get Dean. Trust me. Dean was always bound for failure by his height. If you think I'm crazy, tell me the last really short candidate to go anywhere since the television era. Dean also made way too make gaffes, didn't have a macho alpha voice, was too liberal governor of a state people don't take seriously, etc, etc.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

16. Yes. That's why election reform is so important. nt

[synesthesia]

19. also

I should point out, I don't think Edwards could afford Axelrod in 2008. Trippi was more realistic given the budget (and the need to play under-dog).

It'll be interesting when Edwards hires Carville in 2016 to play the charming Southerner empathy guy (just kidding ;) ). He will run against some time though, he's addicted to it, and he will likely hire a new manager, and likely have a totally different message, and dissapoint you guys with it.