Before the advent of the shot-clock in college basketball, it was possible to use the Four-Corners Offense to run out the clock when your team had the lead. Essentially, the point guard would bring the ball up the middle and the other four players would form a spread-out square. Then they would play a game of keep-away, making little effort to score and forcing the other team to commit a foul in order to get the ball back.
Because the Obama campaign secured an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates very early in the primaries, they used a variety of the four-corners offense. Knowing that the game was won short of some kind of epic meltdown, they engaged in a low-risk strategy. It was no longer critical that they win states so long as they minimized the loss of delegates. They didn’t need to take any risks to knock Clinton out because there was really no way she could overcome their lead if they just protected the ball. Their fundraising prowess was such that they didn’t worry about the cost of an extended campaign, and they took advantage of the opportunity to organize in late primary states like North Carolina and Indiana. This paid off on election day.
The general election was different. In the general, all the votes (aside from absentees and mail-ins) were cast on one day. The Obama Team did work hard to lock in a lead among early voters, but they couldn’t build up in an insurmountable lead; they had to win on election day. To some degree, the habits they learned during the primaries didn’t serve them well in the general. They weren’t as strong at fighting the daily news cycle as they were in out-strategizing the other side. Fortunately, McCain was a terrible campaigner, Palin was a huge drag, and David Plouffe was a brilliant ground-game tactician.
Because the Obama Team won a strong victory over McCain, they didn’t properly assess their weaknesses, which led to problems in the first year of the administration.
Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House team struggled in 2009 to adapt to a political environment that demanded daily communication battles. “We have to adjust in many ways to the fact that in the campaign we always took the long view,” he said. “This is an environment that calls for sharper communication.”
Taking the long-view is especially important for the Executive Branch because it leads to good policy. But governing doesn’t allow for situations where you build up insurmountable leads. There is no final score or ultimate victory. You can’t play keep-away or remain above the fray. If you sit back and let the opponent score points on you, eventually they will start whittling down your political capital.
The Obama campaign was the best campaign in history. But it did have some weaknesses and it did develop some bad habits. Fortunately, they are aware of this now and I think we’ll see a better performance going forward.
