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Bush Team Takes The Attack Strategy Via Internet To A New Level
By Sanjay Sharma, Section News
Posted on Thu Sep 30, 2004 at 02:36:53 PM EST
For the millions of television viewers who tune in to the first presidential debate in Miami Thursday night, the event will probably seem scripted, familiar and maybe even cordial. And for good reason. The Republican and Democratic parties worked out detailed ground rules, all but promising that the televised debates will be uneventful. But both campaigns plan to take off their gloves on the internet. In some respects, the real debate, or a better semblance of one, will take place in cyberspace. An adviser to Al Gore in 2000 said his campaign's failure to answer President Bush's attacks immediately on the internet hurt his image. After the first debate, Gore advisers thought he had handily won. But a few hours later, the Bush campaign was able to change that perception by disseminating press releases on its websites, through faxes and in e-mails. "The rapid-response operation from the other side was very successful at shifting the focus away from Bush's real mistakes, and onto Gore's perceived ones," he said. The new war room is equipped with 15 computers and two TVs, which will be monitored by about 25 policy wonks, communications managers and technology professionals. "It's us working to anticipate the false statements, misstatements and false claims that he will make during the debates on a number of issues, and having responses ready to go, so we can get the information up on the website," Jones said. "When he makes a particularly egregious false claim in the debate, we will send Debate Facts messages directly to the press."
Political observers said coverage of the debates on blogs and websites and in chat rooms and e-mails could shape the public's perceptions of which candidate won. Mainstream media outlets are no longer the sole source for political coverage and analysis. Carol Darr, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet in Washington, D.C., said bloggers can influence the political discussion. "To the extent that the campaigns send out their talking points to these people, they make it easier for them to articulate things that they saw in the debates," she said. "It helps them be more persuasive. And everyone's going to be talking about the debates the next day."
- The Bush campaign threw the first punch. Earlier this week, it launched a massive rapid-response effort called Debate Facts to rebut challenger John Kerry's assertions during the debates. The Bush campaign already had a war room to handle day-to-day communication. The campaign and the RNC set up a second war room to specifically handle the debates. "Our rapid-response effort is based on the premise that no attack or no misstatement will go unchallenged," said Michael Turk, director of the Bush's internet campaign.
- The offices will work closely together to coordinate responses to Kerry's claims during the debates. In addition, each will be in contact with a ground team of Republican luminaries -- including Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain -- who will be on hand in Miami after the debates to answer reporters' questions, using the same carefully crafted talking points.
- Using a 150-page book called The John Kerry Attack Matrix, Bush supporters will shape responses to Kerry's statements. The Bush campaign has been compiling the so-called matrix on Kerry's statements and public record since the primaries. The document is alphabetized by topic. For instance, if Kerry makes a remark about the jobless, the Bush campaign has a ready response. If he makes a statement that he hasn't made in the past, and there isn't a response in the matrix, the policy experts on hand will create one to send out to campaign officials and through the Debate Facts live feed.
The rapid-response effort by the Kerry campaign apparently won't be as comprehensive. When asked about Kerry's response operations early Wednesday afternoon, a representative said the campaign was still working on it. Amanda Michel, a member of Kerry's internet team, e-mailed members of its Media Corps -- supporters who contact newspapers, radio stations and TV shows -- telling them that the campaign would provide a response after the debate. "Please make sure you check your e-mail the moment the debate ends," Michel's e-mail stated. "We can't provide you any more detail until the debate is over, except that all you'll need is access to e-mail and/or a telephone." Michel also wrote that the Kerry campaign's blog will provide live commentary on the debates.
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From Wired.com - September 30, 2004 - By Louise Witt
Wired News: Bush Team Prepares Net Assault
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