Oh, irony of ironies.
Late last month, Elizabeth Warren falsely accused Scott Brown of telling Warren to stop talking by using a doctored video which cut Brown off mid-sentence. The full sentence, however, made it clear Brown only was telling her to stop distorting his positions.
Meanwhile, Warren’s image has suffered from her many shrill television ads, like this disaster praising China:
Warren’s ad launched just two weeks ago had her sitting in front of the camera lecturing about the war on women. Like nails on a chalkboard.
Warren cheerleader Joan Vennochi of The Boston Globe summarized Warren’s television problem:
Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren wasted millions on ads that turned her into every man’s worst nightmare: a smarter-than-thou older woman sporting granny glasses and sensible hair.
At the urging of national Democrats who are fearful Warren is blowing it to nice guy, Mr. Likability, the Warren campaign has changed gears and wants to soften her image:
Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren — amid growing unrest from party activists and leaders — is facing pressure to make a major shift in her television advertising with a new series of commercials that seek to soften her image, while focusing more directly on her GOP rival, Senator Scott Brown.
In a move which has garnered much media attention, the campaign already has rolled out its first commercial.
How has the campaign presented Warren as kinder and gentler in that first commercial?
By having her not talk, and relying entirely on having other people talking about her:
I doubt this will do it. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
Warren deliberately cultivated the image of the shrill who endlessly lectured others. People don’t like shrill (and they don’t like phonies, but that’s a whole other discussion).
Warren also is going negative in a commercial rolled out just moments ago, but in which Warren still doesn’t speak:
My guess is that Brown will not immediately respond with the obvious negative ads which would hammer Warren where it hurts, her ethnic fraud (although I wish he would go after her on it). Warren’s negativity will not make her likable, and it’s too late to damage Brown’s image much.
Scott Brown never wanted Warren to stop talking. Her talking was what was helping him win the election.
So now Elizabeth Warren has stopped talking in television ads, taking the advice Scott Brown never gave her. That’ll teach him.
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