The Kean campaign's game plan (or lack thereof)
See:
http://www.ontheerie.com/upper/viewtopic.php?p=486#486
.. . .
In the same way, the Kean effort was not just bad, but extravagantly so.
Basting in boobery, the entire process was a recipe for failure. The Kean
group exhibited no respect for the opponent, the voters, or even their own
candidate. A Conservative in a safely Republican enclave challenged by a
George McGovern clone might have gotten away with the Kean campaign's game
plan (or lack thereof). For a Republican running a statewide race
(uphill),
the error was fatal.
The foundation of any campaign is first do no harm. Don't throw away the
chips you have when you sit down at the table. There was a VAST field of
anti-Menendez sentiment in Hudson County. Not only was that acreage not
cultivated, the Kean group sat idle as the Menendez campaign moved in and
began to plow. There was one Hudson County Democrat whose support the Kean
group sorely needed. I'm told that the Kean campaign offered NOTHING in
return - not even the use of a car.
It was IMPERATIVE for the criticism of Menendez to be based in Hudson
County. If people in Hudson County spoke out against Menendez, voters
around
the State would listen. Plus, those from Hudson County wouldn't take
offense. This year, the road to DC ran through Hudson County. The Kean
campaign missed the exit somewhere up in Sussex. By making the attacks Tom
Kean's job, his handlers turned him into a mud wrestler. In general, Kean
was portrayed as trivial -- if not spiteful. In particular, Hudson voters
were irritated -- if not shoved to Menendez.
.. . .
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