Luntz Finds Unparalled Amounts of Acomplishments

Hannity and Colmes had Frank Luntz on their show yesterday afternoon, exploring what undecided voters of North Carolina thought about the Republican and Democratic candidates. Luntz’s company, “Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research” is able to, “find the EXACT words and phrases to help you succeed – the messages that will frame the debate and generate support for your side of the issue,” according to their web site.

When polling this group of undecided voters, Luntz asks a series of questions regarding what the audience knows about the candidates political accomplishments. The audience was overwhelmingly able to sound off McCain’s victories; examples ranged from surviving POW camps to serving the nation with legislation such as the McCain Feingold Act. The audience was unable to recall accomplishments on behalf of the Democratic candidates.

This shows the upstanding nature of John McCain’s character, record and shows that he has been able to make substantial accomplishments. The fact that the audience was able to give many examples in favor of McCain, but nothing for the Democrats leads one to believe that this is a prime example of the abilities that Luntz has to frame debates.

The difference between August and April

With the Democratic candidate for President still unknown, John McCain is enjoying some free time to gain support and momentum from the Republican Party for his campaign. This is a case in point example of how choosing the party’s nomination early in the race inevitably strengthens the chances of winning the election. The Democrats are now experiencing in-fighting and division; where nine months ago they had the choice of two charismatic leaders, they are now divided between them. The choice, still unmade is giving McCain the ability to bring the Republican Party together under one umbrella. It was also nine months ago that the McCain campaign was experiencing trouble. As top advisers left the campaign, other candidates called on McCain to drop out citing that he was, “too moderate” to properly represent the party, he continued to pursue the Republican Presidential Nomination.

Right now, with the election six months away, McCain is the clear choice of the Republican Party. Having a single candidate for Republicans to rally behind will inevitably benefit the party.

Announcement

The Whittier College Richard Nixon Fellowship program is taking full advantage of the 2008 presidential election year hubbub to bring exciting new opportunities to Whittier College students. The newly selected Nixon Fellows will attend the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this summer. Stephen Addezio '09 will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and Daniel Strauss '09 will attend the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Both will also be part of the Washington Center's National Political Convention Seminar this summer. Two other Nixon Fellows will be selected to attend the Presidential Inauguration in January 2009.