Breaking Down the Franken Loss-to-Win Scenario

For political junkies, Chris Cillizza offers an excellent (and brief, making it all the more excellent) assessment of how Franken went from loser to winner in eight (short?) months. The fourth factor on Cillizza’s list strikes me as the most interesting because it is perhaps the most counterintuitive for a political campaign to orchestrate and a candidate (especially one accustomed to stage lights) to endure:

Franken’s problem throughout the race was, well, himself. A comedian, satirist and provocateur during the days before his Senate bid, Franken spent the entire campaign trying to prove to Minnesota voters that he was a serious person who wanted the job for all the right reasons … When the race ended in a tie, Franken did something very smart; he stayed out of the spotlight. He was rarely seen or heard and when he did pop into public view it was during an occasional visit to Washington when he was huddling with potential colleagues and getting briefed on issues by potential staffers — in short, acting like a senator. He gave Republicans nothing to use to sow doubts about whether he was ready for the office to which he was headed. While Franken’s personal discipline did little to effect the legal outcome, it played a critical part in slowly but surely securing public support behind the idea that not only had he won but that he was ready to be a senator.

Would-be campaign managers: Take note.