Jeb's tactics backfire

So there I was, searching through Florida papers seeing if the Kathleen Harris decision had been handed down (As far as I can tell, it hasn't), when the following caught my eye:

Republican attack ads may be bolstering McBride
St. Petersburg Times

"People are remembering the name McBride," one observer says, questioning the GOP tactic.

Those dancing feet ads, aimed at derailing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride, may be having the opposite effect.

In fact, they seem to be elevating McBride's stature in his primary race against Janet Reno and Daryl Jones.

"People are remembering the name McBride. In fact some people thought it was a McBride ad," said Dom Cabriele, Hernando Democratic chairman.

He said McBride supporters staffing a phone bank in Hernando keep reaching Democrats who like McBride and remark on the dancing feet ad.

"Whoever in the Republican media department authorized this did McBride a favor," Cabriele said.

[...]

"I was taught many, many moons ago that you didn't mention the other person's name unless you absolutely had to," said longtime Republican Ken Plante, a lobbyist and former state senator. "I would have to think there are a lot smarter people running that campaign than me."

Bush clearly wants to face a far less effective Janet Reno, thus the attempt to use Gray Davis tactics against the strongest of his potential opponents.

Oops.

Posted August 31, 2002 06:49 PM | Comments (2)