Karl Rove as Consultant

Karl Rove would make a very interesting consultant. The man is smart and, no matter what you may think (or even what he may think) of his “clients” or his less savory tactics, he’s good at delivering results to his clients — mainly, getting them elected.

Traditionally, he’s been associated with Republican campaigns, and he’s been attacked enough by the more left-leaning that no self-respecting Democrat would ever take his advice, regardless of how effective it probably could be, but what if he were to say… consult for Obama about how to trounce Hillary?

Well, he might just say:

[S]top acting like a vitamin-deficient Adlai Stevenson. Striking a pose of being high-minded and too pure will not work. Americans want to see you scrapping and fighting for the job, not in a mean or ugly way but in a forceful and straightforward way. Hillary may come over as calculating and shifty but she looks in control. You, on the other hand, often come over as weak and ineffectual. In some debates, you do not even look at her when disagreeing with her, making it look as if you are afraid of her.

And, of course, some more “hard truths”:

Hillary comes across as cold, distant and conspiracy-minded, more like Richard Nixon than her sunny, charming husband. During the Clinton presidency she oversaw a disaster (the effort to sell Hillarycare) and argued hard against welfare reform, one of the promises on which he had campaigned. She is a hard-nosed competitor with a tough and seasoned staff.

But her record is weak, her personality off-putting and her support thin. If she wins the nomination it will be because her rivals – namely you – were weak when you confronted her and could not look her in the eye when you did. She is beatable but you have to raise your game. Iowa is your great chance for a breakthrough. Win it convincingly and you can build on it in the contests that follow. Lose it and victory becomes much more difficult.

And that combination of harsh truth, real advice, and emotionally inspiring message underscores the basic consulting pitch process:

1. Flatter the client
• Karl Rove: “You [Obama] did a smart thing organizing effectively in the early primary states”
• Partner: “Your firm has done great things under its current leadership.”
2. Light harsh truth
• Karl Rove: “Iowa is your chance to best her. If you do not do it there, odds are you never will anywhere. You are way behind her in most national polls.”
• Partner: “Your firm’s future profits are in danger.”
3. Bring back some hope
• Karl Rove: “Your press is improving, with your performance at the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner a big help.”
• Partner: “But, you’ve already taken some good first steps to deal with it.”
4. Hard harsh truth
• Karl Rove: “[S]top acting like a vitamin-deficient Adlai Stevenson.”
• Partner: “Half of your organization is losing money quickly.”
5. Real Advice
• Karl Rove: “[F]ocus on the fact that many Democrats have real doubts about Hillary.”
• Partner (making a pitch): “You need to better segment your customer base.”
• Partner (report to client): “You need to fire X people from Departments A and B, and use these two strategies to target these two customer segments.”
6. Conclude on Emotional Inspiration
• Karl Rove: “Iowa is your great chance for a breakthrough.”
• Partner: “With these strategies we should see a jump in profits for the years to come.”