July 4, 2007
Should Clement call off the media blitz?
Is Bob Clement’s planned media buy a mistake? The City Paper is reporting that Clement is poised to spend as much as $600,000 between now and Election Day on August 2nd.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I embrace the “Anyone But Bob” philosophy because I believe Clement is a poor choice to be our next mayor. (If you are reading, Clint, I’ve also never cast a vote for him in other races.) At the same time, I’m sincerely wondering whether more exposure is a good idea for the apparent frontrunner, a candidate who is not an especially strong communicator, to say the least. Clement has his strengths, as do all of the candidates, but I think many Nashvillians would agree that eloquence is not one of them.
Opponent David Briley made the argument at a recent meetup with local bloggers that Clement’s votes are “soft” and based largely on name recognition among a crowded field of lesser known (and perhaps better suited) candidates. There have been indications that Clement’s lead has been declining over the past several months as other candidates have run ads and received more attention in the media, though that’s not that unusual as a race heats up.
One of my objections to Clement as a candidate is my impression that is too polished and prepackaged. This kind of focus on controlling the message and even controlling delivery of the message prevents spontaneity and creativity that is present, I would argue, in greater amounts in all five of Clement’s opponents (and, if you’re doing the math, I’m definitely including Kenneth Eaton in that category).
I tend to agree with Liz Garrigan’s take that Clement is a “not-so-fresh candidate we predict will hide behind meaningless press releases and innocuous appearances,” but that last phrase may provide the answer to my question. What could be more innocuous and controlled for a political candidate than a TV ad?
That raises another question: Will increasing Clement’s exposure help him or hurt him, since his poll numbers have decreased as the race has continued? Since Karl Dean’s opponents argue that his TV buy has had little or no effect on his numbers, maybe Clement will experience similar viewer fatigue. But when you’re the frontrunner, I suppose it’s less important to gain than it is not to lose.
![Rob Robinson](http://thinktrain.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/Rob.jpg")
Jon Crisp said,
July 4, 2007 @ 9:50 am
Rob,
You’ll get the point when you see the commercial. Liz Garrigan has lost her credibility especially since her husband seems to be neck deep in Dean’s campaign.
Rob Robinson said,
July 4, 2007 @ 11:30 am
I am curious to see the ad. We’ll have agree to disagree about Liz because I think she’s a talented writer and a solid journalist.
bob green said,
July 4, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
Rob,
I think your right adding Kenneth Eaton in, I over heard him tell someone he was ready he was buying $250,000 in advertising and the Tennessean or channel 4 was not getting any of his money,
Eaton seems to be well liked at all the forums and does not mind calling out his opponents when they are wrong.
From what I see he would be a strong Mayor
Bob
StinkTrain said,
July 4, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
I sincerely love listening to you pinheads in the “Anybody but Bob” crowd engaging in your frantic public flagelations.
You know, if you always set yourself up as a loser you never have to cope with winning.
What are you gonna do when you are faced with a choice between Buck Dozier and Bob Clement?
Perhaps you should enjoy the pleasure of Mt. Juliet.
Rob Robinson said,
July 5, 2007 @ 7:18 am
To answer your question, if that unfortunate scenario does develop, I’ll be voting for Buck.
Volunteer Voters » Two Minutes Of Bob said,
July 5, 2007 @ 9:03 am
[...] Rob Robinson thinks that Bob Clement’s new media push may be a double-edged sword for the candidate: That raises another question: Will increasing Clement’s exposure help him or hurt him, since his poll numbers have decreased as the race has continued? Since Karl Dean’s opponents argue that his TV buy has had little or no effect on his numbers, maybe Clement will experience similar viewer fatigue. But when you’re the frontrunner, I suppose it’s less important to gain than it is not to lose. [...]
Damn right I'd vote for Buck vs. Bob said,
July 8, 2007 @ 9:36 pm
I’m with you Rob on the “Anybody but Bob” train and pushing the button for Buck or whomever makes it to the runoff with Bob. It is a shame that Clement supporters should threaten us with Howard Gentry or Buck Dozier in an effort to get us on board with Bob. That scare tactic just crawls all over me and makes me wonder why they want him in office so bad.
Jon Crisp said,
July 10, 2007 @ 8:25 am
Bob Clement will win. Sorry to rain on your parade.