Dit weekend gaf de New York Times een interessant kijkje achter de schermen bij de campagne van Romney die zich herpakte na de nederlaag in South Carolina. De organisatie van Romney zette alles in het werk om Gingrich boos te maken. Het is interessant om te lezen hoe berekenend ze te werk gingen:
Breaking into teams, they divided duties for a new plan to put unrelenting pressure on Mr. Gingrich, hoping to make him angry enough to throw him off track and remind voters about the most unflattering aspects of a record forgotten during a decade in which he solidified his status as a wise man in the party.
The Romney research department began studying Mr. Gingrich’s vulnerabilities, specifically the attacks, many of them employed by a pro-Romney super PAC, that had led to Mr. Gingrich’s collapse in Iowa. There, the team had observed that Mr. Gingrich seemed to become distracted and angry over negative advertisements and attacks on issues like his ethics problems in Congress and his work on behalf of corporate clients in Washington after he left the House.
Deze strategie lijkt goed te werken. Net zoals in Iowa, toen Gingrich ook al veel negatieve spotjes te verduren kreeg, is hij voortdurend aan het klagen over de aanvallen van Romney. Zijn eigen verhaal raakt daardoor totaal ondergesneeuwd.
(cc-foto: Gage Skidmore)
