Online Public Relations Thoughts

This article analyzing why McCain-Palin are getting such poor press coverage is interesting and instructive for communicators. One of the key points is that McCain did it to himself. He was a politician who was always available to reporters until the campaign was in full swing. Then he pulled back. Note that Obama has never been that open to media, but reporters aren't holding that against him. It is a matter of expectations. The media don't know Obama, and Obama is not letting them in. They thought they knew McCain but McCain changed and became a different person. The man who was a maverick proved to be conventional.

By most accounts, Obama has been disciplined about staying on message and making sure everyone in his campaign does the same. Not so for McCain. McCain has flailed and run from one message to the next to try and get something started. As a result, he looks and acts weak.

As written here before, campaigns start at the top, and McCain has proven time and again that he isn't a good campaigner. It makes no difference whether he is the better candidate for the presidency, he has been unable to persuade voters that he has solutions to the economic problems facing the country. Part of this comes from a decision to attack his opponent rather than issues at hand. This is an election in which proposals are more important than personalities. McCain is fighting the last election, not the current one.