Tuesday, June 19, 2007
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Tale of the Tape: Hillary vs. Mitt
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Posted by:
Patrick Ruffini at
3:51 PM
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On techPresident, Alan Rosenblatt asks if anything a campaign has ever produced has gone viral. I’d say this has a decent shot.
Only two videos this campaign cycle were worth me pulling my apolitical wife aside, and saying, “You’ve got to see this.” The 1984 ad. And the Hillary Sopranos spoof.
The video breaks any number of First Laws of campaign web videos. It’s “overproduced.” And she’s acting. It’s nowhere close to authentic. But it’s funny as hell. And self-deprecating.
Over at HotAir, Allah is rightly peeved at the growing Campaign Video Gap:
This makes two creative, entertaining spots in a row to come out of her camp. She’s got this, Gravel has those kooky art-film spots, Richardson has his job-interview series, and our guys are dumping out clips from their campaign rallies. “Pathetic” doesn’t begin to describe it.
It didn’t used to be this way, but it’s safe to say that none of the Republican candidates in 2008 have really gone out of their way to show a more humorous and accessible side. Republicans this cycle are trying to build cerebral, issue-based connections with voters while Democrats are building narratives and showcasing attributes. That’s a 180 from where we were in 2000 and 2004, and those elections didn’t turn out so bad for Republicans.
The best attempt at it so far comes from Mitt Romney, who over Father Day’s weekend released a video purporting to take us behind the scenes of his final decision to run:
Unlike the Hillary video, the Romney video is real and authentic, but it’s marred by a few easily-changed shortcomings.
First, it’s 13 minutes. Let’s remember that is a web video, not the Oscar for Documentary Short. And the good, really innovative part, Romney talking over the decision with his kids (which seems unscripted to my eyes) is stuffed in the final two minutes.
Second, the guitar strumming over Mrs. Romney does more to undermine the authenticity of the video than the Hollywood production values of the Clinton video. If you’re going to do a down-to-earth authentic home video, then stay true to form and do it without a soundtrack. If you’re going for a big splash, go all out, like the Hillary video, which likely took an entire morning of the Senator’s and ex-POTUS’s time. It’s the difference between the summer blockbuster and the art house flick — if you try to be both, you will fail.
Let’s see the Romney video recut, just the decision sequences, and no soundtrack, and let’s review once more.
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I think Mrs. Romney is a breath of fresh air. No question about the fact that she would be a superb First Lady!
This is problematic, however, since I prefer Duncan Hunter for President. |
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Fred can't win a debate against Rudy or Mitt. He lacks energy, enthusiasm and looks pretty darn old and worn out. Sure, he can talk, but now that he's (almost) in he will have to prove that the hype had something behind it. He's so far behind the other guys in key areas - resume, organization, leadership, preparation, etc. |
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A guy that loves his country, loves his wife, loves his kids and loves God.
Oh, and isn't it a shame he's so competent at everything he does. We can't have that in the White House now can we?
Frankly, it breaks my heart that a man of this caliber is going to lose to a McCain lackey who has no clear inner compass, was a washington insider, and divorced his first wife the second he'd made it big. But hey, he has a great speaking voice and people know him because he locked up fake bad guys on TV.
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The 'eat your carrots' candidate is a total bore. She can't act for spit, she's not funny, and her essential phoniness just can't help shining through. BTW, three dollar Bill looks terrible. |
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I guess if you didn't follow the Sopranos, your on the outside looking in on this one. I didn't get it. The only funny thing was Bill saying he was for Smashmouth (Sorry, bad taste, but such low hanging fruit). |
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Yes, the Romney family home movie was long but I felt a tinge of sadness when the video ended with Mitt saying "thank you" to his son's comments that he needed to run. Pretty hard to stage kids (grandkids) and they didn't act like spoiled brats and the wives of Ann and Mitt's sons were classy moms. I was impressed with the genuineness that was apparent in their family system.
Watching Bill Clinton with a distressed expression and bags under his eyes was sad. He looked unhappy while Hillary looked perfectly young and pleasant - but wooden, somehow. And Chelsea was not on camera. Where was the American family role modeling in their staged video?
The contrast was stark; while both candidates are very bright, articulate, and determined, I prefer Mitt, even 13 minute's worth.
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She is head and shoulders above the other First Lady wannabees. She's the only one of the top tier wives who doesn't have cleavage spilling out all over the place every time you see her. She's got class and it's real.
Apparently Jeri Thompson said to a friend that she might "frump it up" for the campaign to which Fred replied, "Hell no!" |
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I take it that all you need is love, Dudley. How mean spirited of Mitt to raise more money so far than the rest of the field. He should have waited for the others to catch up or at least apologized for the fact. That he didn't apologize for doing better on fundraising obviously makes him sneaky and a bad leader. |
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Mitt has a nice family, and millions and millions of bucks. He is all over every form of media, thanks to his media-crazed, throw-money at-it campaign managers. But he is Lola, not a leader. |
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I agree it should be shortened and re-released. But as it is, it is very powerful. Not emotionally powerful, but politically powerful. After watching the video you sense the complete disconnect between all of these overheated smears and mischaracterizations of Mitt and the real person that you see on the video. The demonization just doesn't work anymore. In fact, it is interesting that this thread has been free of those kinds of attacks, unlike most Romney threads on this site. |
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She seems very nice. The kids and their wives seem pretty normal too. |
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I found the best so far to be Fred Thompson's rebuttal to Michael Moore. The cigar was a beautiful touch. |
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Yes the Clinton video was very good, very amusing, and accomplished what it set out to do: show a relaxed personable side to the Clintons, and to show as you point out, their, and especially Mrs. Clinton's, humorous side.
And I agree that the guitar overdub is an unnecessary distraction, and I did go oh no, not thirteen minutes.
But anyone who watches and doesn't get pulled into the video and doesn't instantly find himself liking Mrs. Romney may need some gene therapy. She is genuine. She is personable.
Also, I liked watching the kids slide down the stairs.
The final two minutes really could be its own video, though longer, though not necessarily thirteen minutes. It is a compelling 2-minute window into the family making a family decision. And the family is very likable. |
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I would not go fishing with Dean on Lake Tahoe anytime soon.
The Hillary clip is funny and is self deprecating. I give Hillary credit for playing on that given how people describe her as having a stick. . . well you know the rest. I am surprised Hillary can joke. I always assumed Hillary's sense of humor organ was about as developed as an appendix and I figured it shriveled away after the Lewinsky scandal. This video is useful just to show Hillary is going to be a tough candidate to beat.
The Mitt-Ann family video is fine, they have a nice family and an attractive log home, but frankly I go bored about five minutes into it and stopped watching (and the music overlay was like something like the local camera shop would dub in for you). No slight against the Romneys, but it was like watching anyone's home videos. The only time other people's home videos are funny if they unintentionally turn into slap stick--then they are hilarious. |
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...do a Southern version with a different accent?
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