Giuliani: Ignore The Media
Rudy Giuliani has a new ad out that criticizes the press corps for treating the presidential election like a sporting event. It began running today in Florida, perhaps the most crucial state for Giuliani in his quest for the Republican nomination.
The spot, "Super Bowl," opens with a quick-cut montage of television pundits discussing the election. An announcer says: "With pundits and politicos handicapping the campaign like the Super Bowl, it's easy to lose sight of what's at stake. An economy in peril. A country at war. A future uncertain. The media loves process. Talking heads love chatter. But Florida has a chance to turn down the noise. And show the world that leadership is what really matters."
Giuliani has good reason to encourage voters not to listen to the media, as he has garnered relatively little coverage in recent weeks. The press corps, as it normally does, has focused heavily on the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where Giuliani placed sixth and fourth.
Giuliani's unorthodox campaign strategy has been to expend little effort in the early states, instead focusing on winning in Florida on Jan. 29th. His hope is that a Florida win would providing him momentum going into "super-duper Tuesday" on Feb. 5th, when 20 Republican contests will be held, some in delegate rich states.
But the strategy relies on surviving through January, when Americans finally begin voting and turn their focus to the presidential race. The former New York City mayor has benefited from the fact that no clear Republican frontrunner has yet emerged, but it doesn't help Giuliani that the media are focused on Republican candidates other than him: Iowa winner Mike Huckabee, New Hampshire winner John McCain, and dual runner up Mitt Romney. This ad looks like an attempt to encourage Florida voters to tune out the talking heads and focus instead on Giuliani's message.