The Debate is Over and the Court Has Ruled...So Now What?

I launched ctrl+alt+persuade in January with the goal of bringing insights on political advertising, media, and technology that I was teaching students in the classroom to readers of this newsletter to "help decode billions of dollars in campaign spending during what may be the most consequential election cycle in US history.”

My theory was that there is no shortage of cable news talking heads, social media platforms, and yes, Substack blogs full of partisan pundits playing the political parlor game of "who's up/who's down" in the race for the White House and Congress. So I wanted to help readers understand and get an "inside look" at political messaging, strategy, and, once in a while — if we're really lucky — creativity, from someone who has actually done this work.

Most importantly, I wanted to stay away from the typical speculation, crystal ball gazing, and guessing games so prevalent in Washington, D.C.

Of course, the events of the last week have blown the doors open on Election ‘24. Like many others in politics and communications, my phone has been overwhelmed with hundreds of text messages from friends and colleagues wondering just what the hell was going on in this race.

Instead of jumping on any bandwagon, or rushing to judgement, I planned to look at data before making any assessments on what we should expect from the presidential campaign in the coming weeks and months.

Specifically, I was waiting on two key pieces of information: 1) the post-debate polling data from swing states, and 2) what the major donors (the "whales" as we used to call them) are doing. My sense was that understanding those two factors would be the best way to offer a clear-eyed assessment on the ad strategies, messaging, and tactics both presidential candidates, as well as those running for the House and Senate, should pursue in the final months of Election '24.

While there are mixed signals coming in on polling and fundraising, on both sides, one thing has become abundantly clear: the President and his senior staff are doing a disservice to the American people by continuing his campaign.

For me, the final straw was a feeble attempt by President Biden to address the nation in the wake of monumental decisions by the Supreme Court, not only regarding Donald Trump's alleged crimes, but also on a litany of issues of deep concern to millions of Americans, and not just Democrats.

There is simply no excuse for the most powerful person in the world to make a statement to the world — his first since a disastrous debate that not only threatened his presidency but quite possibly our standing in the world — with a poorly delivered, prepared statement, and no follow-up questions from the media. Not to mention, not a peep about the issue that is on the minds of almost every voter in the country: "Are you up to the job, Mr. President?"

What does all of this mean for this newsletter? Nothing at all. In fact, the events of the last week will make political advertising, strategy, technology, and media even more important, so we will continue to analyze all of that for you, the readers of "ctrl+alt+persuade."

But for this week at least, we are going to hold off on ad analysis and other regular features, and see where we're at next week.

Please share your thoughts. I want to know what you think.