What Would You Do?

Mike Gorrell has an interview with Ben in today’s Tribune. It’s the first significant media attention our campaign has received since the inconclusive Republican primary of two weeks ago.

If you read that article you’ll see why there’s been so little attention. There’s precious little to say beyond, “...the candidates, McAdams included, will have to exhibit still more patience.”

No one enjoys the present stalemate. However, I do think that it works to our advantage. We know Ben will be the Democratic nominee, and 85% of what we’d do if we knew our opponent’s identity are still things we can and should do.

Crockett and Winder, on the other hand, are more likely to be afflicted by a sense of stasis. Though it’s difficult to tell if stasis is any kind of handicap for Crockett. He’s yet to prove that he could raise cab fare if his life depended on it.

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The one real exception I took to Gorrell’s article is his description of our campaign headquarters as “modest.”

That's not fair. We have a refrigerator, a microwave and a toilet. There’s hot and cold running water and lots of florescent lighting.

“Posh” might be an exaggeration, but modest? I don't think so.

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I’m writing this post soon after Gorrell’s article was posted to the Tribune web site. Of real interest is the discussion that follows that article. Here’s a selection of comments...

• Although I am a conservative and will be voting for Mitt Romney, I think McAdams will be my one crossover vote this election. 
• I likewise feel inclined. We'll see.
• The more I learn about this guy, the more I like him.  Perhaps McAdams will be the one or two times I break from my normal GOP voting method in 2012.

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As this kind of comment becomes ever more common I’m convinced that Ben’s greatest asset... and he has plenty of assets... is the simple fact that people like him. That advantage is ever more significant as more and more people become acquainted with him, and as those who already know him get to know him better.

That’s the good news.

Now if you were Crockett, what would you do?

It's obvious he simply can’t let that go uncontested. For if this race becomes primarily a contest over who is the most likable, Crockett is dead meat. And I’m sure he knows that.

Therefore, at some point, and probably toward the end of the campaign, Crockett will feel obliged to go negative, and in a very personal way. He simply has to take the shine off Ben’s persona or he cedes the race.

Is there a skeleton in Ben’s closet? I doubt it. But even if there isn’t, one will be invented.