[Common Tator]

Kerry is taking an intersting tact. He is going places but no effort is made to draw a crowd for him. Kerry I am sure thinks the whole game is TV and Newspaper coverage. His handlers no doubt think he does better when he just makes a statement to journalists rather than speaking before a crowd. Kerry is so pompous before a crowd.

I don't think the Kerry campaign is aware how much local TV and Newspaper people are influenced by a big LOCAL crowd. Bush's front preople see to it he has a big crowd. If Kerry continues what he did in Cleveland last week, ... that is .... just talk to financial backers and the media, the local media will kill him.

The local reporters will assume that Bush has lots of local support and Kerry does not. It is worth noting that local Anchors are as secure in their jobs as the last two ratings books. Two bad books and they are wondering where they can get their next job. If they get the impression that Bush is popular locally and Kerry is not, they will favor Bush in their reporting. They will do it because they think it will help their ratings. If Bush draws big crowds and Kerry dosen't even try, they will assume that Bush is far more popular with local people.

The more I watch the less convinced I become that Kerry's people know about the media and how to use it to their advantage.

On the road Bush caters to the local media. It is a new tack in an industry where the National TV media has been king for decades. But local media has as much audience as the national media. It is a smart move on Bush's part. Nearly everything that Bush does on the road is designed to win over the local media.

As I said, local media is half the game. With Fox, talk radio, and the Internet, Bush could end up with over half the media on his side.

Kerry had best learn how to play local media, or he is toast.

[ohioWfan]

Good analysis, Tator.

If you're right, and Kerry (who looks down on everybody) continues to ignore the local folks, he IS toast.

Course I think he's toast regardless, but I'm a cockeyed optimist. :o)

[nopardons]

You're absolutely right!Kerry and his team(especially Shrum!)don't have a glimmer of an idea how to run a national campaign and we shouldn't tell them.

Local media has ALWAYS been important,but are more so now.

[prairiebreeze]

Bump!

[reformedliberal]

Bush's front preople see to it he has a big crowd.

---

Hey, Ray: give us volunteers and the field staff a break! We are signing people up for tickets for the Lacrosse, WI rally 5/7. We all spent a week lining up volunteers and we have more than we need. Tickets are going like hotcakes w/lines of people there before we are and this is one venue out of a total of 4 or 5. Yes, the automated phone calls to the base got them out to sign up for tickets, but people are taking the maximum number allowed and this is not including the VIP list of reserved tickets for big shots. We had a couple of phone calls from people who live deep in the boonies hoping they could get their tickets mailed to them (nope: photo ID required) while I was there.

Everyone is excited and the people signing up are of all ages and demographics. Everyone is smiling. A major local business is letting us have a table inside his store. On my 2-hr shift yesterday, we had 2 Dems make comments and one was a tad simple, IMO. Everyone else was relaxed, chatty and optimistic.

DH volunteers tomorrow, so well see how his shift goes. There is a 5-day sign up, 5 hrs Sunday and 8 hrs Mon-Thurs.
We are aiming for 4k-8k people.

I am very impressed w/the staff. Our regional campaign manager is a calm young man who is very well-organized and has a couple of local district House races under his belt. I had a chance to meet the regional political director in February and she was quite focused and receptive to hearing complaints from the base.I noticed actions taken by the administration within a week of talking to the PD that addressed the very concerns I relayed to her....concerns we all know here on FR and we all noted action on a few months ago.

The field staffer running my shift Sunday was 19, comes from an inside the Beltway family of Dems (VA) and they are supporting the POTUS. She was a very self-possesed young lady.

So, it is the organization right here in the region, national and local, that is getting the crowd out; heck we ARE part of the crowd! I can tell you that this IS a grass roots campaign. If we had advance men, maybe we could get the city of La Crosse to make shuttles available from the parking areas to the venue, as they do for Democrat candidates. Instead, we are starring any name that is elderly or frail or disabled and who may need help getting to the rally itself and the campaign is providing assistance. Also, we decided among ourselves to note anyone who signs up whom we know is a potential disruptor and to pass that along quietly to the people who can access security.

The local rag is owned by Lee Enterprises and their coverage is anti-Bush. we'll see how they play this.

The focus, esprit and competency I have witnessed so far has been extrordinary.

[ride the whirlwind]

...As I said, local media is half the game. With Fox, talk radio, and the Internet, Bush could end up with over half the media on his side.

Kerry had best learn how to play local media, or he is toast.

Shhhhhhhhhhhh....wouldn't want to tip off the enemy! ;-)

[nyconse]

When Kerry came to Atlanta, he refused to talk to the local media. He had all the local media taken to a room and left them there. He went out and spoke with the national media and then left without speaking to the local media. Needless to say, the local coverage was not positive.