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Rand Paul hits bumps in first week of campaign
Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) Rand Paul's long-anticipated presidential rollout hasn't gone quite as smoothly as he might have hoped.
In just his first week as an official candidate, he's faced the dual headwinds of negative ads highlighting conservative criticism over his foreign policy views as well as charges of sexism for his combative reactions in high-profile interviews.
The early days of a presidential campaign are critically important: It's a first shot for candidates to define themselves at a time when they'll attract a swell of generally positive media coverage and get screen time in front of audiences that don't normally pay attention to politics.
And this early on — Paul was only the second candidate to jump in the race after Ted Cruz — newcomers face an onslaught of political media coverage. That means closer than usual scrutiny of a candidate's record and statements, along with incessant horse race evaluations of based on optics and the logistics of campaign rollouts.
"No matter how well-known a candidate may be going into a roll out tour, the goal of any presidential announcement event is to provide the optics and visuals that say, 'Meet the next president of the United States,'" said John Legittino, who led Mitt Romney's national event production.
For Paul, it's widely viewed that his Tuesday announcement in Louisville, Kentucky, successfully set the tone for his campaign. He aimed to appear like a nontraditional candidate with diverse appeal that would help expand the Republican base and make him more electable in a general election. The kickoff event was followed by a media blitz and an early voting state tour that took him through New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa. On Saturday, he completes the tour in Nevada.
It was during his media appearances that the narrative of his rollout started shifting gears. On Wednesday morning, Paul clashed with NBC's Savannah Guthrie over what he considered editorialized questions and tried to direct her on how she should conduct an interview. The tense exchange quickly spread and comparisons were drawn to his heated reaction in a different interview two months ago when he shushed a female reporter.
And when Paul was in New Hampshire later on Wednesday, he got aggravated with an Associated Press reporter who asked the senator specifics about his views on abortion ban exceptions.
"I gave you about a five-minute answer. Put in my five-minute answer," a frustrated Paul said.
He also got into a mudslinging match with the Democratic National Committee when he told a reporter at NH1, who also asked a question about abortion, to challenge the Democratic group's chairwoman.
"Why don't we ask the DNC, 'Is it okay to kill a seven-pound baby in the uterus?' You go back and you ask Debbie Wasserman Schultz if she's okay with killing a seven-pound baby that is just not yet born yet," he said.
While Paul is known for being accessible to the media and granting a lot of interviews, he later admitted that he can be "short-tempered" with the press.
"I think I should have more patience," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, though he argued that he's not just irritable with female interviewers, a narrative that Democrats had been pushing all day.
"I think it's pretty equal opportunity. I was annoyed with a male reporter this morning. I will have to get better at holding my tongue and holding my temper," he said.
Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, who worked on Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, said candidates need to understand the level of attention and close examination that presidential candidates can be exhaustive.
"Even when you breathe, it's news," he said. "There's always going to be mistakes, the question is how do you handle those mistakes and move forward."
Taking on the media can sometimes be strategic for candidates, O'Connell said, but candidates need to pick their battles wisely.
"What they want to see you do is be diplomatic about it and then be able to triangulate and return fire when it's something really, really big," he said.
Whether those contentious moments will have an effect on his campaign is unclear.
A woman who attended Paul's rally in Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday told Paul she saw his appearance on Fox News the previous night with host Megyn Kelly, who grilled Paul over the way he handled himself in the NBC interview.
"Don't worry about your interview with Megyn," the woman in South Carolina said. "You don't offend women. Just keep at it."
Also taking a toll on Paul's announcement week was a million dollar ad push by the right-leaning group Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, criticizing his foreign policy views. The round of ads and web videos, which kicked off the same day as Paul's presidential announcement, painted Paul as soft on Iran, using comments he made in 2007.
The attack was bolstered when conservative columnist Charles Krauthhammer said Paul was the "one Republican who'd be running who is the closest to Obama in his view of foreign policy," a major blow to any Republican seeking the nomination.
It's long been clear that one of Paul's biggest challenges in winning the GOP primary would be his anti-interventionist views, especially as the public has grown more favorable toward military action in the Middle East to defeat ISIS.
His position against foreign aid also received renewed attention this week. Paul has been an outspoken proponent of ending all U.S. foreign assistance, including to Israel.
Doug Wead, a friend of Paul's who also worked for Paul's father, Ron Paul, said the senator's week had been "tumultuous," but argued the attack ad was simply a sign Paul is a top-tier candidate whose unconventional GOP views on foreign policy could cross party lines and play well in the general election.
He pointed to a new Quinnipiac Poll that showed Paul was ahead of Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical matchup in three swing states.
But Wead said the senator, who was first elected to public office in 2010, could benefit by learning how to embrace a "so what" attitude when it comes to negative attention.
"I think he has to recognize that he does not control the medium through which people learn his ideas and views," he said.
SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/10/politics/election-2016-rand-paul-campaign-bumps/index.html
In just his first week as an official candidate, he's faced the dual headwinds of negative ads highlighting conservative criticism over his foreign policy views as well as charges of sexism for his combative reactions in high-profile interviews.
The early days of a presidential campaign are critically important: It's a first shot for candidates to define themselves at a time when they'll attract a swell of generally positive media coverage and get screen time in front of audiences that don't normally pay attention to politics.
And this early on — Paul was only the second candidate to jump in the race after Ted Cruz — newcomers face an onslaught of political media coverage. That means closer than usual scrutiny of a candidate's record and statements, along with incessant horse race evaluations of based on optics and the logistics of campaign rollouts.
"No matter how well-known a candidate may be going into a roll out tour, the goal of any presidential announcement event is to provide the optics and visuals that say, 'Meet the next president of the United States,'" said John Legittino, who led Mitt Romney's national event production.
For Paul, it's widely viewed that his Tuesday announcement in Louisville, Kentucky, successfully set the tone for his campaign. He aimed to appear like a nontraditional candidate with diverse appeal that would help expand the Republican base and make him more electable in a general election. The kickoff event was followed by a media blitz and an early voting state tour that took him through New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa. On Saturday, he completes the tour in Nevada.
It was during his media appearances that the narrative of his rollout started shifting gears. On Wednesday morning, Paul clashed with NBC's Savannah Guthrie over what he considered editorialized questions and tried to direct her on how she should conduct an interview. The tense exchange quickly spread and comparisons were drawn to his heated reaction in a different interview two months ago when he shushed a female reporter.
And when Paul was in New Hampshire later on Wednesday, he got aggravated with an Associated Press reporter who asked the senator specifics about his views on abortion ban exceptions.
"I gave you about a five-minute answer. Put in my five-minute answer," a frustrated Paul said.
He also got into a mudslinging match with the Democratic National Committee when he told a reporter at NH1, who also asked a question about abortion, to challenge the Democratic group's chairwoman.
"Why don't we ask the DNC, 'Is it okay to kill a seven-pound baby in the uterus?' You go back and you ask Debbie Wasserman Schultz if she's okay with killing a seven-pound baby that is just not yet born yet," he said.
While Paul is known for being accessible to the media and granting a lot of interviews, he later admitted that he can be "short-tempered" with the press.
"I think I should have more patience," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, though he argued that he's not just irritable with female interviewers, a narrative that Democrats had been pushing all day.
"I think it's pretty equal opportunity. I was annoyed with a male reporter this morning. I will have to get better at holding my tongue and holding my temper," he said.
Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, who worked on Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, said candidates need to understand the level of attention and close examination that presidential candidates can be exhaustive.
"Even when you breathe, it's news," he said. "There's always going to be mistakes, the question is how do you handle those mistakes and move forward."
Taking on the media can sometimes be strategic for candidates, O'Connell said, but candidates need to pick their battles wisely.
"What they want to see you do is be diplomatic about it and then be able to triangulate and return fire when it's something really, really big," he said.
Whether those contentious moments will have an effect on his campaign is unclear.
A woman who attended Paul's rally in Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday told Paul she saw his appearance on Fox News the previous night with host Megyn Kelly, who grilled Paul over the way he handled himself in the NBC interview.
"Don't worry about your interview with Megyn," the woman in South Carolina said. "You don't offend women. Just keep at it."
Also taking a toll on Paul's announcement week was a million dollar ad push by the right-leaning group Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, criticizing his foreign policy views. The round of ads and web videos, which kicked off the same day as Paul's presidential announcement, painted Paul as soft on Iran, using comments he made in 2007.
The attack was bolstered when conservative columnist Charles Krauthhammer said Paul was the "one Republican who'd be running who is the closest to Obama in his view of foreign policy," a major blow to any Republican seeking the nomination.
It's long been clear that one of Paul's biggest challenges in winning the GOP primary would be his anti-interventionist views, especially as the public has grown more favorable toward military action in the Middle East to defeat ISIS.
His position against foreign aid also received renewed attention this week. Paul has been an outspoken proponent of ending all U.S. foreign assistance, including to Israel.
Doug Wead, a friend of Paul's who also worked for Paul's father, Ron Paul, said the senator's week had been "tumultuous," but argued the attack ad was simply a sign Paul is a top-tier candidate whose unconventional GOP views on foreign policy could cross party lines and play well in the general election.
He pointed to a new Quinnipiac Poll that showed Paul was ahead of Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical matchup in three swing states.
But Wead said the senator, who was first elected to public office in 2010, could benefit by learning how to embrace a "so what" attitude when it comes to negative attention.
"I think he has to recognize that he does not control the medium through which people learn his ideas and views," he said.
SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/10/politics/election-2016-rand-paul-campaign-bumps/index.html
Yeah ok.
Not a thing wrong with dual citizenship - ask Rafe' why he felt like he needed to lose his. Then ask how his family's grievances against the Castro regime turned him into the scariest Bircher since Goldwater, and how that might effect his foreign policy decisions.
Never said Ted Cruz had experience to be President. And she is far from a ceterist.
So it is a bad thing to have a duel citizenship? Please explain because I can find a number of Americans who hold citizenship in Israel.
And how is Cruz a facist puppet?
So it is a bad thing to have a duel citizenship? Please explain because I can find a number of Americans who hold citizenship in Israel.
And how is Cruz a facist puppet?
Warren was sworn into the US Senate the same day as Rafael 'Ted' Cruz. Not to mention experience going back 20 years overseeing financial matters Cruz isn't fit to have an opinion on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren
"......Warren voted as a Republican for many years saying, "I was a Republican because I thought that those were the people who best supported markets". She states that in 1995 she began to vote Democratic because she no longer believed that to be true, but she says that she has voted for both parties because she believed that neither party should dominate.......
In 1995, Warren was asked to advise the National Bankruptcy Review Commission.[34] She helped to draft the commission's report and worked for several years to oppose legislation intended to severely restrict the right of consumers to file for bankruptcy. Warren and others opposing the legislation were not successful; in 2005 Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 which curtailed the ability of consumers to file for bankruptcy.[35][36]
From November 2006 to November 2010, Warren was a member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion.[37] She is a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, an independent organization that advises the U.S. Congress on bankruptcy law.[38] She is a former Vice President of the American Law Institute and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences......
On November 14, 2008, Warren was appointed by United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.[42] The Panel released monthly oversight reports that evaluate the government bailout and related programs.[43] During Warren's tenure, these reports covered foreclosure mitigation, consumer and small business lending, commercial real estate, AIG, bank stress tests, the impact of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) on the financial markets, government guarantees, the automotive industry, and other topics.[a]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau[edit]
Warren was an early advocate for the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The bureau was established by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Obama in July 2010. In September 2010, President Obama named Warren Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to set up the new agency.[44] While liberal groups and consumer advocacy groups pushed for Obama to formally nominate Warren as the agency's director, Warren was strongly opposed by financial institutions and by Republican members of Congress who believed Warren would be an overly zealous regulator.[45][46][47] Reportedly convinced that Warren could not win Senate confirmation as the bureau's first director,[48] Obama turned to former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and in January 2012, over the objections of Republican Senators, appointed Cordray to the post in a recess appointment....."
A centrist with a good understanding of finances. Hmm.
Bonus -- never maintained dual citizenship with another country and not a fascist sock puppet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren
"......Warren voted as a Republican for many years saying, "I was a Republican because I thought that those were the people who best supported markets". She states that in 1995 she began to vote Democratic because she no longer believed that to be true, but she says that she has voted for both parties because she believed that neither party should dominate.......
In 1995, Warren was asked to advise the National Bankruptcy Review Commission.[34] She helped to draft the commission's report and worked for several years to oppose legislation intended to severely restrict the right of consumers to file for bankruptcy. Warren and others opposing the legislation were not successful; in 2005 Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 which curtailed the ability of consumers to file for bankruptcy.[35][36]
From November 2006 to November 2010, Warren was a member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion.[37] She is a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, an independent organization that advises the U.S. Congress on bankruptcy law.[38] She is a former Vice President of the American Law Institute and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences......
On November 14, 2008, Warren was appointed by United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.[42] The Panel released monthly oversight reports that evaluate the government bailout and related programs.[43] During Warren's tenure, these reports covered foreclosure mitigation, consumer and small business lending, commercial real estate, AIG, bank stress tests, the impact of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) on the financial markets, government guarantees, the automotive industry, and other topics.[a]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau[edit]
Warren was an early advocate for the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The bureau was established by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Obama in July 2010. In September 2010, President Obama named Warren Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to set up the new agency.[44] While liberal groups and consumer advocacy groups pushed for Obama to formally nominate Warren as the agency's director, Warren was strongly opposed by financial institutions and by Republican members of Congress who believed Warren would be an overly zealous regulator.[45][46][47] Reportedly convinced that Warren could not win Senate confirmation as the bureau's first director,[48] Obama turned to former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and in January 2012, over the objections of Republican Senators, appointed Cordray to the post in a recess appointment....."
A centrist with a good understanding of finances. Hmm.
Bonus -- never maintained dual citizenship with another country and not a fascist sock puppet.
Ah yes Elizabeth Warren who has no experience, let's get her to be President so she can do worse then Obama.
Barb we all know you can't reason with a 3 year old. The only thing they respond to is punishment when they do something bad. So it might be time to send the kid to bed.
Barb we all know you can't reason with a 3 year old. The only thing they respond to is punishment when they do something bad. So it might be time to send the kid to bed.
Yes, I like Warren too but really if the choice is between any of the current republican candidates and Hillary who are you going to vote for?
I'm pleased to see you agree with me.
In the context of your previous post it appears you've grasped the obvious. And yes, that is profound.
In the context of your previous post it appears you've grasped the obvious. And yes, that is profound.
If you've come back to start the insults again, you're wasting your time.
"Any competent political observer realizes that Hillary's likelihood of being the democratic candidate for the Presidency is far and away better than any republican candidate's likelihood of being the republican Presidential candidate." How profound!! Since Hillary is the only Dem to throw her hat in the ring, I suppose so... Really??? Are you saying they're might chose a Martian instead of a Republican for the Republican candidate? Now that's a concept I really hadn't considered...
The only thing that's eluding me right now, is why you're wasting your valuable time and self-perceived,extreme intelligence insulting people you feel to be so far beneath you.
"Any competent political observer realizes that Hillary's likelihood of being the democratic candidate for the Presidency is far and away better than any republican candidate's likelihood of being the republican Presidential candidate." How profound!! Since Hillary is the only Dem to throw her hat in the ring, I suppose so... Really??? Are you saying they're might chose a Martian instead of a Republican for the Republican candidate? Now that's a concept I really hadn't considered...
The only thing that's eluding me right now, is why you're wasting your valuable time and self-perceived,extreme intelligence insulting people you feel to be so far beneath you.
I'm with you OH, I am not a fan of Rand Paul. I think the tea party has really dimmed in their popularity.
I think Hilary is too old. And has had health issues. I find her charming but rarely agree with her politics.
All the names that have surfaced for the Republicans are names we've all heard before. Nothing too exciting there so far.
Another dismal political season ahead.
I think Hilary is too old. And has had health issues. I find her charming but rarely agree with her politics.
All the names that have surfaced for the Republicans are names we've all heard before. Nothing too exciting there so far.
Another dismal political season ahead.
I'm not happy with any of the candidates so far, but Rand Paul is way too extreme, I'd think, for even most conservative GOPs.
I do hope the Dems can find someone other than that Wall street connected pro-war hawk, Hilary Clinton.
Now, I'd love to vote for Elizabeth Warren !
I do hope the Dems can find someone other than that Wall street connected pro-war hawk, Hilary Clinton.
Now, I'd love to vote for Elizabeth Warren !
Gee, another copycat.
You've probably never heard this but there is an old saying that goes like this: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".
'....but I guess any Republican wagon train is just as valid as Hillary's..."
Well, that is obviously a very biased statement - which I expect.
What I didn't expect is that your bias would so obscure your reasoning ability.
Any competent political observer realizes that Hillary's likelihood of being the democratic candidate for the Presidency is far and away better than any republican candidate's likelihood of being the republican Presidential candidate.
Apparently that reality eludes you. And, now that I think about it, I'm not really surprised. Republicans are well schooled in denying reality - like climate change, for instance or evolution or..........................
You've probably never heard this but there is an old saying that goes like this: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".
'....but I guess any Republican wagon train is just as valid as Hillary's..."
Well, that is obviously a very biased statement - which I expect.
What I didn't expect is that your bias would so obscure your reasoning ability.
Any competent political observer realizes that Hillary's likelihood of being the democratic candidate for the Presidency is far and away better than any republican candidate's likelihood of being the republican Presidential candidate.
Apparently that reality eludes you. And, now that I think about it, I'm not really surprised. Republicans are well schooled in denying reality - like climate change, for instance or evolution or..........................
Hillar Clinton.
That's funny.
Teeheehee
If democrats are hitching their wagons to this has-been, it's going to be a silly wagon train going nowhere.
(I can do it too, see?)
That's funny.
Teeheehee
If democrats are hitching their wagons to this has-been, it's going to be a silly wagon train going nowhere.
(I can do it too, see?)
I'm with you. Anybody's wagon train is just as valid as Hilary's.
I don't think most Republicans are hitching their wagons to anybody, at this point, but I guess any Republican wagon train is just as valid as Hillary's. Right now, we have 4 candidates in the ring and it the pickings don't get any better I'll have to end up doing an "eeny meeny miny moe" - oh leaving Hillary out, of course...
Rand Paul.
That's funny.
Teeheehee
If republicans are hitching their wagons to this guy it's going to be a silly wagon train going nowhere.
That's funny.
Teeheehee
If republicans are hitching their wagons to this guy it's going to be a silly wagon train going nowhere.
Gotcha.... "Moral high ground"..... As if he has one? Here we go.... We all know these people will do and say anything to get elected. Wouldn't surprise me if he did try to find some moral high ground and it wouldn't surprise me if he turned out to be amongst the most immoral of the lot.
I don't expect anything better from her than, "Everyone does it." since that seems to be the essence of her moral and political philosophy. I'm more interested in Paul positioning himself to take the moral high ground against his fellow Republicans.
Her accepting money from Saudi Arabia is off the mark. I would expect that from her and I expect full forgiveness from her voter base.
http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/rand-paul-slams-hillary-clintons-grand-hypocrisy-n340096
Interesting shot at Hillary. I wonder how much of it is a dig at his GOP opponenets
Interesting shot at Hillary. I wonder how much of it is a dig at his GOP opponenets
About Rand Paul.... I hear some conservatives knocking him while others are saying he is the real deal. I'm not real impressed. I'd probably vote for Romney if he and Paul faced off.
Savannah Guthrie... geez.
I heard the interview. She was editorializing, and generalizing, and asking leading questions. And when Paul tried to answer, she talked over him WHILE he was trying to answer the combative question she'd just asked.
The interview was a joke. She's NEVER have spoken to Hillary in the manner that she spoke to Paul.
Anyone listening to the interview could have told you what Guthrie's party affiliation was, which you shouldn't be able to do... aren't journalists supposed to REPORT the news, not editorialize & inject their personal thoughts & feelings on the topic, especially in a presidential election?
And my 2nd thought... WHO CARES HOW PAUL TREATS JOURNALISTS.
As long as he represents the countries best interests, I don't really care that he hurts a journalists feelings.
And so it begins... Republicans hate woman.
When Obama was running, Republicans were racists. Now that a woman will be on their side, all Republicans hate woman.
How predictable you lefties are.
I heard the interview. She was editorializing, and generalizing, and asking leading questions. And when Paul tried to answer, she talked over him WHILE he was trying to answer the combative question she'd just asked.
The interview was a joke. She's NEVER have spoken to Hillary in the manner that she spoke to Paul.
Anyone listening to the interview could have told you what Guthrie's party affiliation was, which you shouldn't be able to do... aren't journalists supposed to REPORT the news, not editorialize & inject their personal thoughts & feelings on the topic, especially in a presidential election?
And my 2nd thought... WHO CARES HOW PAUL TREATS JOURNALISTS.
As long as he represents the countries best interests, I don't really care that he hurts a journalists feelings.
And so it begins... Republicans hate woman.
When Obama was running, Republicans were racists. Now that a woman will be on their side, all Republicans hate woman.
How predictable you lefties are.
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