Yup—Atwater had the genius to figure out what needed to be done.
He had the skills to get it done.
He had the determination to get it done.
Then—after he won—he could apologize all he wanted....
Just more on Atwater...I worked on a lot of campaigns in my day—and when they failed it was because we were not smart enough, we were not skill enough, and we were not determined enough to win.
You have to really want it—this is not a game for nice polite people.