Barack Obama has so far given Hillary Clinton a run for her money in terms of the American presidential elections. That was until he said to fundraisers in San Francisco: “You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them it’s not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
A spectacular stumble in the eyes of Pennsylvania’s voters, not to mention places with similar voters such as Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky. This could seriously increase the momentum significantly for the Clintons.
Nick DeLuca, chairman of Open Road thinks that by suggesting that God and guns were not part of great American traditions of freedom and worship but the by-products of being forgotten and excluded, he has handed a loaded pistol to his current and possible future opponents.
Certainly Obama’s position has not been helped since his associated press chairman Dean Singleton passed a question over to “Barack Osama”; what a difference a mere letter can make.
In a matter of days Obama’s presidential position may have seriously dwindled.
He and his media communications team need to seriously consider their next move, and Media Mentor would suggest Obama attempts to clear up the mess he has made with the Pennsylvanian voters. This must be his first move, but secondly he will need to assess how to ensure Senator Clinton cannot benefit from his mistake.
Specifically though, the presidential candidate will need to assure the voters of Pennsylvania that what he meant was that he is committed to ensuring that the government does not forget them like it has done before, and his other comments were meant as empathy and support.
If you would like Media Mentor’s support throughout a crisis, then give us a call on 0800 032 1127.
Leave a Reply