The Ebert & Roeper Report: At post time, there were a measly 186 views of Steve Poizner’s new campaign video over at You Tube (three of them from Calbuzz – who says we have no life?) but Team Commish says that’s not the point.
The slick and shiny 7:38 video is being mailed on DVD to thousands of grassroots, donor and activist Republicans around the state – i.e. primary voters – as an “introductory” look at Poizner and his tax cut platform, a new move in his tortoise-and-hare bid to catch front-runner eMeg Whitman.
“Many people have yet to see Steve in person or hear him speak,” said campaign flack Jarrod Agen. “This gives a preview of the style and tone Steve will take both in messaging and advertising.”
Ominously titled “Back from the Brink,” the spot features the candidate speaking directly to the viewer while pacing around a spacious L.A. loft (nice refurbished hardwood floors!), amid a steady stream of camera angle cuts and iconic California images displayed on a background big screen TV, all set to a cover of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” we’re pretty sure we last heard in the elevator of the Senator Hotel.
With Commish in his familiar Full Silicon Valley uniform of open-necked royal blue shirt, blazer and propeller head glasses, the tight shots sometimes make his head look bigger than the Rock of Gibraltar, but viewer reactions to the straight-into-the-camera device will be an intriguing test of how well Poizner visually projects c
onfident leadership.
More than any candidate in the race, Stevie Wonder looks like, well, a normal person, kind of a cross between George Deukmejian and William H. Macy, which could work either as a weakness or a strength. If change-hungry voters are in the mood for an average looking guy whom they’d trust to come by the house and fix their computer, then Poizner’s “detail oriented, hands-on” message might sell; if they’re looking for a more traditional pol’s projection of Reaganesque stature, he might suffer from a Gravitas Gap with Meg.
eMeg Watch: Speaking of messages to supporters, we’ve just dug into our Friday “Field Notes,” Team Whitman’s little weekly e-blast, featuring a chatty note from Herself (“I enjoyed spending time this week with members of the Sacramento County GOP Central Committee at their holiday party”), happy, happy talk from the campaign trail (“While several at the event noted there is much work to do to re-energize the GOP in California, they said they are inspired to see a candidate like Meg enter onto the scene”) and even fun-filled features for the family (“Which of these peaks is the highest in California?” Memo to Calbuzz kids: Take Mt. Whitney and the points).
Although we’ve long been suckers for campaign propaganda brimming with an earnest, feel-good, Up-With-People tone –- kind of like the dumb-ass view eMeg seems to ascribe to voters –- here’s this week’s Calbuzz version of Field Notes from the Meg Whitman Campaign:
–-Meg heads to Delaware! Meg Whitman is one of America’s premier business leaders, and she proves it again by traveling to The First State for a date in court, as eBay and Craig’s List sue each other’s asses off!
–-Another big national interview for Meg! Building excitement for her campaign to be elected Governor of the United States, Meg gave a big interview to Time Magazine, perfectly reciting her talking points about a “spine of steel” and disdain for being “well liked” – once again confusing the “need to be popular” with maintaining enough political clout, loyal allies and tolerant adversaries to accomplish an agenda in political office!
—America just loves CEOs! Meg keeps dazzling voters by explaining that what California really needs is a high-powered, obscenely rich business executive willing to throw tens of millions of dollars into her own campaign – and by laughing off foolish public opinion polls that show ordinary people think CEOs are “greedy and willing to break the law.”
WooHoo for Meg!
Three dots: Reason #686 why Dianne Feinstein would peak the day she announced her candidacy for governor…Inquiring minds want to know: Has Gavin Newsom ever uttered a single declarative sentence that wasn’t bragging? At least he’s not insecure…Today’s sign the end of civilization is near: Neck deep in sand, Really Really (Self) Important Reporters fret about top-rank bloggers joining White House press pool.
