Reply #68: She went in the race with high name recognition and high negatives. [View All]

That was not an easy place to be. She might have overcome the negatives by projecting competence and thoughtfulness, however she came across as arrogant and entitled. That just reinforced the negatives she already had--rather than minimize or dispel them.

The meme on her going into the race was that she was a "bitch" and it was left over from a time when she and her husband were under a perpetual attack. She needed a campaign that could capitalize on her name recognition but not reinforce her negatives--and she chose Penn to run it. THAT may have been her fatal mistake.

Had she worked with somebody that was more image aware (like Donna Brazil) she might have done better (not that I really think too much of Brazil either-but she does have a good feel for the public attitudes about self presentation.)

Frankly she just ran the wrong campaign.


Laura