the elevator pitch

talking to the top

Politics in Canada Raises Eyebrows

Published December 12th, 2008 in News Hits | No Comments »

Canadian politicsCanadian politicians are like hockey: They only get attention outside of their nation when they shock and appall.

When Jon Stewart earlier this week kicked off The Daily Show with a lampoon of the strange happenings in Ottawa, it marked a new low for a nation in the middle of an unprecedented political calamity.

Stewart remarked that the attempt by opposition parties to oust Prime Minister Stephen Harper was baffling for Americans to comprehend.

“Force him from office? You can do that?” Stewart said. “Because we’ve had no confidence in our guy for quite some time now, and he’s taking forever to leave.”

The Daily Show’s jokes followed scathing criticism in The Economist, which called the opposition’s attempted coup and Harper’s petulant response “un-Canadian”, and critical coverage in mainstream media outlets around the world.

When Harper, a Conservative, shut down Parliament until January 26 in order to save his job, Canadians were outraged and the rest of the world became curious. Embroiled in the most turbulent economic crisis in a lifetime, the nation’s leader decided to halt government at a time the country is in great need of economic stimulus. That’s un-Democratic to his rivals, unbelievably stupid to many of his constituents and bizarre to everyone else.

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Barack Obama Needs Help to Win the Soundbite War vs. McCain and Palin

Published September 11th, 2008 in PR Stunts | No Comments »

Barack Obama and his communications team have failed to grab the headlines since the Republicans stole the momentum during their convention. The problem is they want to dissect the differences in policies and issues, but no one is paying attention. The Obama team needs to win the soundbite war. Then, when they have the spotlight again, pivot back onto the issues — where Obama is clearly stronger because of his positions and his intellect.

The Elevator Pitch – which is never shy about offering advice to people who are way, way above our paygrade – presents these lines for use by the Obama camp as it tries to win the U.S. presidential election for the Democratic nominee:

1. “The Straight Talk Express sure makes a lot of U-turns.” – For use when discussing John McCain’s flip-flopping on the issues.

2. “Do you know what the leaders of Cuba, China and North Korea have in common with the bottom half of the Republican ticket? None of them answer to the press.” – Without mentioning the Governor of Alaska’s name, Obama can go to an extreme to point out the GOP’s audacious stance that keeps Sarah Palin away from the media.

3. “Under John McCain’s tax plan, the Americans who make less than $66,000 would receive a $309 tax break. That’s not change – that’s chump change. And for those who make more than $603,000, John McCain would give them $45,000 back every year on their taxes. That’s not putting country first, that’s putting Big Money first — again.” – For use when discussing the difference between the candidates’ tax plans.

4. “The Republicans seem to forget this country was founded by community organizers.” – A point that can be made when the GOP denigrates Obama’s public service record.

5. “It’s a shame John McCain would tarnish one of the finest records of service in modern American history by running the kind of swift-boat campaign he promised you he would steer away from.” – To counteract McCain’s status as a war hero.

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