Friday, February 22, 2008

$3.8 million Losing Strategy

"We must own crisis. We must brand crisis. I think we should make a commitment. We should bet the house on the message". - "Our Brand is Crisis"

Only a Democratic consultant can earn big bucks in a losing effort. Mark Penn snookered Hillary Clinton out of $3.8 million. Am I being harsh? Don't think so. It is all over but the shouting, for Hillary, and Penn gets megabucks for dispensing lousy advice. It is a fine tradition in the Democratic party. In 2004 Bob Shrum, Tad Devine and others made $9 million for sending John Kerry to Loserville.

Not content to bring corporate branding to American politics, Democratic consultants have spread their worthless nostrums around the world, including to nations in crisis like Bolivia. Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) used a marketing campaign to win a presidential campaign in Bolivia. Bolivians were none too pleased with the "shock doctrine" foisted on them and the president was forced to resign in disgrace and hightail it to the U.S.

It is all sickening. Political consultants who can't win political contests at home make tons of money selling snake oil and death to the rest of the world. God bless America.

Hillary Clinton was outmaneuvered by someone better at spreading the corporate message than she was. You have to give Obama credit for doing the same thing but with more finesse. He looks like a champion for change while Hillary wasted her money on Penn and his incompetent ilk.

She is so desperate that she is clinging to the plagiarism charge that Obama steals his lines from other people. No one cares and she was booed at last night's debate event when she didn't let that sleeping dog lie. That is what happens when you hire non-politicans to do political work. $3.8 million for losing. Priceless.