It may not be very fair to judge a candidate based on how he or she enters a race, but the reality is that many voters go ahead and do it, so why shouldn’t you and I?
I found John Hickenlooper’s press conference where he made his entry in to the Governor’s race official very interesting. I also thought the reaction from the GOP showed a lot about how they will handle this new opponent.
First, the press conference. I know he has only had less than a week to really think this though and taking this step must have been a bit nerve-wracking, but the first thing John Hickenlooper needs to work on is delivering a speech from notes.
I wasn’t sure if he was unfamiliar with the content, or nervous or both, but he did not sound smooth.
There were flashes of his humor that I think will eventually make the difference in the campaign against McInnis. He adlibbed well when a blaring siren from a passing fire truck interrupted his speech. He handled that deftly, but after that flash of impromptu wit, he was quickly back to checking his notes every few words.
I don’t want to get hyper focused here on the first speech of a long campaign. Only geeks like me will ever remember how he entered the race. It’s the finish most people will remember. But, if we are to take something away from the very beginning, I think working on delivery should be a big priority for his campaign staff.
Now, for the reaction.
You could tell that both Scott McInnis and GOP party chair Dick Wadhams take Hickenlooper’s entry into the race seriously. Running against Ritter, McInnis almost seemed giddy and at times, a bit smug. Now, he seems much more focused. Being asked questions after Hickenlooper made it official, McInnis couldn’t be pried off his message about job creation with a crowbar.
Wadhams joined in by showing the first line of the GOP strategy, make Ritter’s record an albatross around Hickenlooper’s neck. Some GOP folks have gone as far as calling him Hickenritter.
That might get some giggles now, and may serve as a strategy for a week or two, but tying Hickenlooper to Ritter’s decisions will ultimately be difficult to pull off. That doesn’t mean McInnis and Wadhams won’t try, though.
Neither candidate came out as weak or incredibly strong on Hickenlooper’s first day. And to be fair, McInnis’ entry into the race was clumsier than Dick Van Dyke in a living room full of Ottomans. And few people seem to be worrying about that right now.
And like I said before, the end of the race means far more than the beginning. But the beginning does at least show that both campaigns have a great deal of work ahead of them if they intend on enjoying the end of the race.
I wonder who will learn their lesson first.