Todd's Mischief Blog

Rick Perry's campaign released a new ad on Tuesday. I just wanted to share my thoughts on it and invite others to express theirs: This ad makes me think that perhaps Perry is a different breed of Republican than we've become accustomed to. I already know that his campaign strategist, Dave Carney, is a different breed of strategist. But this goes beyond mere strategy. Perry actually adopted the "President Zero" tagline, which is exactly what all the right-wing talkers were suggesting on radio and cable news. That is a major curveball. I was not expecting any candidates to take advice from the talkers. That is a very anti-establishment move. That really demonstrates Perry's receptiveness to the conservative base. As for the ad itself, it is extremely cinematic. The approach is not necessarily novel among political ads anymore, but it’s still not the norm. What sets this ad apart is its full embracing of that approach. He's not just dipping his toes in. This is a...

Bachmann Wins Ames Straw Poll  Just announced, Michelle Bachmann has won the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa, taking first place with 4823 votes and becoming the first woman to do so. With 4671 votes, second place goes to Ron Paul while third goes to Tim Pawlenty with 2293 votes. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry did not participate (the latter being a little late to the game) but they took 567 and 718 votes, respectively. So what does it all mean?  Any discussion of the Ames Straw Poll should rightly start by pointing out that it has only been conducted five times in the past, so there’s not all that much precedent to rely upon. On the other hand, since the event began in 1979, the candidate winning the Iowa Caucus has placed first or second in the straw poll every time. And the Caucus, with a longer track record, is a pretty fair indicator of who gets the party nomination. So, if the Straw Poll changes anything, it is that it spells out definitely exactly what chances Bachmann has for the...