Subject: Notes from the meeting
From: "Christina Reynolds" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:29:04 -0400

Below are my rough notes from today's meetings.  Let me know if you have any
questions.

Christina

Message Meeting: 3/12/08

Research:  Stan Greenberg

.         We're dealing with swing voters-test showed it works, but need to
do more on base voters.  McCain is using this period to shore up his base.

.         Need to test the new information on lobbyist, economics, etc.

.         In focus groups of 18-29 year olds, the lobbyist issue with McCain
has permeated more than expected. 

.         McCain attributes: honest, trustworthy, will keep country safe,
strong leader.  Most of these are hard to move and not predictive of the
vote.

.         Lobbyist attack was one that drove the "won't bring the right kind
of change" shift, which moved voters.

.         Three dynamics that are drivers for our side: people vs.
Washington special interests, take care of home vs. being stuck in Iraq,
average people/middle class  vs. being for big corporate special interests.
We have to attack government-People First message only works if you start
with changing government as the way to bring change.

.         How to use Iraq: priorities, endless war, have made us less secure
by being stuck on Iraq to the detriment of everything else (can use Fallon,
other military experts). NOTE: with what's happening over the next six
weeks-Patraeus coming back to Congress, anniversaries, etc.-Iraq may
dominate the news.

Media Market test:

.         McSame was the most effective in moving the vote, ran the ad in
Erie with 1200 points and radio and robocalls.  Did pre-surveys in Erie and
control market (Evansville IN).  

.         Very successful-weighted pre-and post tests in both markets to
original weighting of partisan shift.  Overall, movement away from McCain
against both candidates in the test market, with no movement or negative
movement for Democrats in the test market.

.         Slight shift in negative feelings toward McCain, but more shifts
on the attributes: will bring the right kind of change: in PA went from 40
percent well/48 percent not well, to 38 well/57 not well after test.  On too
close to Bush, went from 42/50 to 55/38(?).  On being independent, he still
has a positive rating, but moved away from having a majority.

.         78 percent recalled content of ad. 

Messaging:

PB: Very strong frame that's not going to change: John McCain is not going
to change.

.         We know the country's for change, we're for change, and
conservatives are not going to bring about the change we need.

.         Proof points:

o   McCain is the same as Bush.

o   McCain is his own words: On the economy-completely at odds with the
country, doesn't want to change, says we're not in a recession.

o   He's been corrupted by Washington: 

o   Endless War vs. Priorities here.

.         Also should be making the priorities argument-he's against pork
all over America.  But there's one place where he's for pork.  Can link up
the lobbyist/warmonger/misplaced priorities arguments together.

.         Need to focus on seniors-new comments on privatization, shift
health care cuts to "cut Medicare (or Medicare for seniors)" in ads.

Will Robinson: 

.         Ties to lobbyists are strong, but who cares?  What do we do to
make this something people care about?

.         Need to lay out a story-McCain is close to a complete image right
now, so some of the attacks we launch on him bounce off.  We need the
stories that show that his relationship with his lobbyists friends made a
difference in his story, and then use real people to sell the story as to
how McCain's policies will hurt them.

.         Can we turn the Straight Talk Express into the lobbyist express
for ads?  (Will be a problem under C-4 issues guidelines, but can talk more
about his work for 20 years).  Example: the wheels on the bus vs. the
lobbyists' on the bus go ring, ring, ring, the money on the bus goes plop,
plop, plop.; or do some free media with wrapping a bus to go up and down K
Street with lobbyist express to get some press.  

.         Now that he's raising money, can we do more with his fundraisers,
having people outside, etc?

.         Could we do fake NPR tags: John McCain is brought to you by the
insurance industry, etc. etc.

.         He's still really squishy with his base-how do we mess with him
there?  Working with hunters' groups, his support from gaming/lottery
groups?

.         Question about Bush: We've already done a good job tagging him
with Bush, but we need to tag McCain.  Gluing McCain to Bush is easier and
we're well on our way, but we need to glue these lobbyists to McCain.

.         We need to continue to give people NEW information, in a
verifiable way, and a way that's not Washington lingo, but with real people.

.         Surrounded by politics, won't change Bush's Washington

Mark Armour:

.         Primary goal is to show McCain is not the right kind of change.
Same as Bush, same old politics, just the same.

.         Bad economy, recession, high gas prices, money down the toilet in
Iraq.  Paint McCain as out of touch on the economy-ties him to Bush, wrong
for people, 

.         We need to deauthenticate McCain-let people see how he's the same
as Bush before we just assert it.

.         We need to put McCain into the pocket of big oil now.  McCain says
special interests don't give him any money, but he's taken big money from
big oil.  Tie him to industries as gas prices increase.

.         Iraq priorities attack--

Pacey:

.         Hot issue right now is the Boeing deal: implied quid pro quo in a
way that most outrages people-listening to lobbyists and outsourcing jobs
from America.  Can be localized: he came to McCain to change things, and he
did; he sent XXXX Ohio jobs overseas.  

.         Old argument: talking about him being out-of-touch is different
for someone older-becomes a euphemism for old.  Should be using that term
for economy, Iraq, etc.  He's out of touch not just because he's allied with
Bush, but because he's just old. 

.         Should be calling him a war president: his answer to everything is
go to war.  When the call comes in at 3 am, you don't want someone whose
first response will be "fuck 'em, bomb 'em."  Wants to stay in Iraq forever,
bomb Iran, takes his focus away from things like the economy.  Happy
Warrior.

Bill:

.         Lobbyist piece is symbolic of everything else: out-of-touch, doing
things in the old Washington way, not the kind of change we need, putting
things up for sale, lack of sincerity.  

.         We need to get this back to a definition of him personally.  Maybe
lobbyist piece can be a part of the overarching narrative, particularly
since with so many lobbyists, this will be an ongoing narrative.

.         What's the description of McCain that resonates that most?  It's
not that he's old and set in his ways, it's that he's old and set in Bush's
ways.  Incapable of change: stuck in his ways/stuck in the status quo, can't
teach an old dog new tricks.  

.         Set in his ways also undercuts the maverick image.

Bush: 

.         Do we use him as a metaphor?  Some in meeting were pivoting away
from Bush, while the media market test shows that Bush moves voters.

.         Mistakes in the past were letting Nixon, Reagan go away.  We need
to make Bush live forever.  

.         Need oppo on Bush and lobbyists.  Loeffler is the link-but there
are others (Charlie Black).

.         Have we looked at tying McCain to the Republicans, not just Bush?
Pollsters: haven't looked at.  Admakers: could be worth doing given the
wrong direction numbers and how unpopular the Iraq War is.

Ideas:

.         If McCain goes to Paris, we could run a web ad in French with
subtitles: Merci John McCain.

.         Get French people to do something outside his events.

.         Use McCain/Bush hug as an iconic image-works on the spot, could be
a billboard, etc.

.         Targeted Google ads by zip code: McCain opposed this project here,
but voted for bridges in Iraq.

 

Taglines:

Same old politics, same old thing.

Same old economics, Same old McCain

McSame old..