Christine O'Donnell's 'not a witch' ad: Can she regain control of her image?
In Christine O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 new , the first words you hear are 鈥淚 am not a witch.鈥�
Wow. Why would Delaware鈥檚 GOP Senate candidate lead with her chin and refer to her old statements about dabbling in witchcraft as a youth? Isn鈥檛 that something a candidate would prefer voters forget?
Yes. But Ms. O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 ad is an attempt to reclaim control of the shaping of her own image. That鈥檚 a priority goal for any politician who has been put on the defensive, as O鈥橠onnell has. Her advisers must think she has to use the word 鈥渨itch,鈥� and then contrast it with her telegenic, normal appearance, to try to overcome that particular campaign glitch.
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In a way, that鈥檚 not the most ambitious part of the ad. After she disposes with the witchcraft thing, O鈥橠onnell immediately says, 鈥淚鈥檓 nothing you鈥檝e heard. I鈥檓 you.鈥�
And that鈥檚 the point here. O鈥橠onnell may need to convince Delaware voters that she indeed shares their concerns 鈥� that she鈥檚 an ordinary person 鈥� if she鈥檚 to overcome the substantial gap between herself and Democratic candidate Chris Coons shown by the polls.
That鈥檚 about more than overcoming the off-message stuff about witchcraft, her misstatements on education credentials, and talk about China鈥檚 plans to take over America. It鈥檚 also about softening the basic "tea party" message of anger about big government and Washington fiscal irresponsibility, and making it palatable for a state that鈥檚 fairly moderate.
A recent Fox News poll found that only about 30 percent of Delaware voters describe themselves as 鈥渁ngry鈥� about the way the federal government is working. Another 30 percent say they are dissatisfied, but not angry. O鈥橠onnell has to figure out a way to put these two groups together if she鈥檚 going to win in November.
And her ad isn鈥檛 angry-sounding at all. O鈥橠onnell is a practiced small-screen performer, and as it goes on she shakes her head and expresses quiet, rueful regret about things such as 鈥減oliticians who think back-room deals are the way to stay in office.鈥� Contrast this with ads for Carl Paladino, another tea party favorite who鈥檚 running for New York governor. They鈥檙e a blast furnace of anger about the mess in Albany and his opponent, 鈥渃areer politician Andrew Cuomo.鈥�
(The O鈥橠onnell ad is well made, by the way, even though it is a simple one-camera shot of her talking torso. The background is lovely, the lighting expensive, and O鈥橠onnell herself very smooth. Pretty good for a candidate who had only $20,374 in her campaign cash on hand at the end of August.)
There鈥檚 not much time left before the election, though, so O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 campaign will have to move beyond reintroducing its candidate pretty soon. The next step in Campaign Strategy 101 would be an attempt to redefine the opponent. So look for ads soon that focus, not on O鈥橠onnell, but on Mr. Coons 鈥� not just his college 鈥渂earded Marxist鈥� days, but also his current tenure as New Castle County executive. Coons hasn鈥檛 resigned to run for the Senate, and that presents O鈥橠onnell with two possible lines of attack: He鈥檚 cheating the county while he runs for higher office while remaining on the payroll, and he鈥檚 a career politician who鈥檚 still in office.
