Lynn Espinoza is a broadcast news veteran with more than a decade of media, presentation and executive coaching experience. She has developed personal coaching sessions for Fortune 100 C-level executives, corporate communicators of all kinds, doctors, lawyers and leaders in non-profit.
Hell Yes, We’re Bitter! Or.. Better Know thy Audience
Posted on April 16, 2008. Filed under: Latest News
I’ve been watching the Clinton/Obama dust-up over those “Bitter Pennsylvanians” with great fascination. My focus has not been on the candidates, but the audience. Machine Clinton was so quick to pounce - painting a picture of an out-of-touch elitist who insulted the very fabric of rural Pennsylvania. Although she’s running with a 54% negative, she and her strategists felt comfortable going negative once more with this one, with a no-holds barred pummeling of Obama in the press. As this article from Everett, Pennsylvania indicates, Clinton may have been served by slowing down a bit, and understanding her audience. Whether or not she intended it, her message to rural Pennsylvania was clear: “I know you aren’t bitter!”. Well, turns out - they are. Who looks out of touch now? Clinton focused so much on the “bitter” and so little on the “guns and religion”, that Obama came through the week with polls once again rolling in his favor. He now has more Pennsylvanians in his corner shouting, “Hell yes, we’re bitter!”
I’m really struck by two things things. One is the power of thoroughly understanding the audience. At this point in the campaign, each candidate has enough socio-demographic info to make smarter choices - if they take the time to understand the info. The other is how Obama seems to turn these disasters into positives for him (Rev. Wright and Guns and Religion). Is it Teflon? Is it authenticity? What is it?
I’m counting the minutes until tonight’s debate!
One Response to “Hell Yes, We’re Bitter! Or.. Better Know thy Audience”
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I think you’re ‘on the money’ with your summary above. I’m counting down the minutes until Tuesday. This will be interesting, to say the least. But I stand by my prognostication that Hillary Clinton will take this all the way to Denver and count delegates. There is the potential for that Convention to be the biggest political story in our lifetimes- hyperbole, maybe- but think about it. Neither candidate will actually have the magic number. I think it will be ‘a hoot’ to watch the narrative created by the pundits in the weeks to come. Pundits love drama and this promises to deliver far beyond what Hollywood could spin. I say look for balance. Consult many different sources. This is gonna play out the hard way! There will be blood on the floor!