Tag Archives: Fred Davis

John Kasich Won’t Be the Nominee

Those of you who’ve been looking forward to Ohio Gov. John Kasich becoming a GOP 2016 candidate need to put your hopes elsewhere. This is a guy with a serious political death wish. Or as Mitt might say, a “severe” political death wish.

Kasich has hired Fred Davis. Yes, the same Fred Davis who worked for Jon Huntsman in 2012. The same Fred Davis who produced the “Demon Sheep” ad for Carly Fiorina and the “I Am Not a Witch” ad for Christine O’Donnell.  We’re talking the two worst ads in the history of politics, which I guess is an achievement of some sort.

Kasich has hired John Weaver, who also worked for Huntsman, and who was unceremoniously fired by John McCain back in July 2007, when McCain’s campaign was looking very, very dead.  Weaver let Huntsman prattle on in Chinese during a primary debate, because, you know, there’s nothing the GOP base loves more than a guy who’s fluent in Chinese.

As a late entrant, Kasich needs to make a splash, which I expect he will.  That splash you hear before a heavy object sinks straight to the bottom.

Can Mitt Control His Campaign?

The front-page NYT story about the proposed pro-Mitt Super PAC ad campaign focused on Reverend Wright raises more questions that it answers.

1.  Who gave the NYT a copy of the 54-page bound proposal from bizarre adman Fred Davis titled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama — The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good”?  The Times says it got the document “through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone.”  Was it someone from the Romney campaign?  There may be issues of  illegal coordination here, since the campaign is not supposed to coordinate with Super PACs.

2.  Will Mitt be able to control the message of his campaign?  Mitt — so far, anyway — says he wants to focus on the economy.  Is he going to rely on the NYT revealing Super PAC plans that diverge from his campaign strategy, plans that his advisers may believe would do more harm than good among independents and swing voters?  Of course, you want Super PACs to do your dirty work, to run ads you can’t end with, “I’m Mitt Romney, and I approve this message.”  But what about when those ads cross a line and go too far?

3.  Is the GOP so determined to fight the last campaign that they will mess up this one?  Back in 2008, Fred Davis’ shop produced a Rev. Wright ad that wasn’t used.  The 2012 Davis proposal contains a quote from Joe Ricketts, the billionaire who would be funding the new Wright ads:  “If the nation had seen that ad, they’d never have elected Barack Obama.”  The Davis proposal, written by alumni of the 2008 McCain campaign, also attacks their former boss directly as “a crusty old politician who often seemed confused, burdened with a campaign just as confused.”  But running against President Obama in 2012 is very different from running against candidate Obama in 2008.  Fred Davis’ old grudges and resentments against McCain have nothing to do with getting Mitt elected this time around.  Which is why someone who supports Mitt went running to the NYT.

Quote of the Day

In response to the furor around Fred Davis’ proposed ads against President Obama using Rev. Wright, Mark Salter, long-time McCain adviser, said this:

“Fred is a creative guy, but he requires round-the-clock adult supervision.  If you take your eyes off him for a moment, you’re chasing demon sheep, witches and the yellow peril.”

Update on GOP and Rev. Wright Ad Campaign

Perhaps in response to the NYT‘s front-page story based on their leaked copy of Fred Davis’ proposed ad campaign, Davis’ company, Strategic Perceptions, has announced that the plan to attack President Obama based on Rev. Wright has not been approved by Joe Ricketts, whose Super PAC would be paying for it.

But the NYT was careful to call it a “proposal” and said that the ad campaign “is awaiting approval.”