Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America (56 page)

and OFA, 80

research and data, 51, 78, 80, 81, 320, 326, 327

and technology, 40–41, 74, 75, 76–77, 78

and 2008 campaign, 74

and 2012 campaign, 13, 15, 57, 59, 74, 75, 76–77, 78, 83, 249, 252–54, 318

Michigan:

auto industry in, 215–16

debates in, 154–55

election results in, 334

Republican campaign in, 213–20, 222

Romney campaign in (2008), 90–91

Romney campaign in (2012), 92, 97–98, 214–16, 218–20, 222, 224, 343

middle class:

and the economy, 3–4, 52, 71, 72

and swing voters, 71

midterm elections (1994), 35, 37, 42

midterm elections (2006), 100

midterm elections (2010):

and Democratic Party, 35–36, 60

lessons learned from, 80, 105

and Obama’s presidency, 12, 35–36, 49, 100–101

and preparation for 2012, 80

and Republican Party, 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 112, 119, 180

and super PACs, 172

Milken Institute Review,
242–43

Millsaps, Patrick, 188

Miner, Mark, 153

Minnesota:

election results in, 334

governors of, 129

nomination contest in, 343

Santorum campaign in, 209, 210, 222, 343

Mintz, Daniel, 69

Mississippi, Santorum’s victory in, 224

Missouri:

nomination contest in, 343

Santorum’s victory in, 209, 210, 222, 343

Moffatt, Zac, 89, 234, 260

Mohr, Carol, 318

Mondale, Walter, 131, 182, 274

money, importance and power of, 5

Montana, Obama campaign in, 319

Moore, Michael, 305

Morning Joe,
251

Mother Jones,
70–71, 293, 295

MoveOn.org, 69

MSNBC, 65, 256, 306

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, 267–68

Murphy, Mike, 304

Musser, Phil, 132, 138

Myers, Beth, 33, 338

and debates, 308–9

mapping the race, 89, 90, 91, 96

and Romney’s public image, 251

and running mate selection, 264–68, 270–71, 273–74

Nahigian, Keith, 136, 147

Nakamura, David, 72

Narwhal (software), 77

National Association of Latino Elected Officials, 230–31

National Journal,
332

National Review,
204, 206

National Rifle Association (NRA), 104

Navy, U.S., SEALs, 46

NBC, 336

NBC News/
Wall Street Journal
poll, 227

NBC Nightly News,
203

Nesbitt, Marty, 11

Netanyahu, Benjamin, 186, 271

Nevada:

as battleground state, 319

debates in, 154, 160

election results in, 333–34

field operations in, 83

labor unions in, 186

midterm elections in (2010), 102

Republican campaign in, 209, 343

Romney campaign in, 92, 93, 207, 224, 328, 343

new America:

demographics, 239, 242–44

economy, 239–42

polarization, 239, 244–45

New Deal, 101, 148

New Hampshire:

as battleground state, 59, 319

debates in, 131, 132–33, 134–35, 136, 137, 138, 140, 154, 183–84

early primary in, 93

election results in, 15, 333, 336, 345

“live free or die” in, 183

polls in, 330

Republican campaign in, 175, 176, 179, 182–83, 185, 209

Romney campaign in, 16, 18, 41, 92, 95, 168, 175–76, 182, 224, 226, 319

in 2000 campaign, 182

in 2008 campaign, 12, 90, 92, 182, 183, 311, 319

Newhouse, Neil:

and ads, 203, 262, 277

and polls, 19, 95, 189, 199, 299, 312, 330–31

and South Carolina, 185, 189, 197

New Jersey:

Christie in,
see
Christie, Chris

Hurricane Sandy in, 331–32

and “pay to play” rule, 268–70

New Mexico, Latino vote in, 319

New Nationalism, 3, 72

Newtown, Connecticut, shooting in, 353

New York:

Hurricane Sandy in, 331–32

midterm elections in (2010), 102

and “pay to play” rule, 268, 269

second debate in, 314–16

New York Times,
36, 61, 62, 66, 72

Nicholson, Marvin, 11, 337

Nicklaus, Jack, 18

Nixon, Richard M., 334

No Child Left Behind, 217

Noonan, Peggy, 298

Norquist, Grover, 103

North Carolina:

election results in, 332

Obama campaign (2008) in, 286–87

Obama campaign (2012) in, 286–87, 319

Romney campaign (2012) in, 319

North Dakota:

Obama campaign in, 319

Santorum’s victory in, 222

Obama, Barack:

advisers of, 36–38, 41–42

aversion to conflict, 62–63

biographers of, 23, 24, 25–26, 55

and birther issue, 109–10

and the budget, 44–45

consensus and compromise, 49, 63

and debates, 131, 188–89, 301–8, 309–10, 311–13, 314–17

at Democratic convention, 292

Democrats critical of, 39, 50, 62

and demographic shift, 243–44

Dreams from My Father,
24

and the economy, 3, 35–36, 61, 62, 68–69, 98, 230, 240, 248–49, 254–55

on election day, 18–19, 20, 332–35, 336–38

election of, 244

expectations faced by, 12, 49, 63, 226, 242, 260, 286, 287, 319

and health care, 25, 36, 47, 55, 62, 94–97, 101, 133, 135, 174, 227, 231, 304

and Hurricane Sandy, 19, 331–32

and immigration issue, 230–31

inauguration (2013) of, 353–54

keynote address (2004) by, 12, 16, 24, 25, 283

and leadership issues, 8, 27, 47–50, 56, 61, 62–63, 64, 66–67, 70, 101, 241

and midterm elections (2010), 35–36

personal qualities of, 22, 23–25, 36–37, 310

political persona of, 23–28, 37–38, 49–50, 67

presidency of, 12, 23, 28, 37, 50, 63, 100–101, 353

problems inherited by, 8, 49, 98–99, 244, 252, 255, 290, 291, 335

public image of, 3, 61

reelection of, 332–35

Republican opposition to, 3, 4, 12, 38, 41, 42–43, 48–50, 52, 56, 61, 62, 64, 66–70, 72, 94, 102, 104–5, 140, 188–89, 199, 226, 234, 244, 257, 261, 277–78, 349

as senator, 25

State of the Union address, 42, 72, 136

supporters of, 6, 7–8, 55–56, 242, 260, 295

and Tucson shooting, 42, 62, 112

and 2008 campaign, 12, 289, 307, 311–12

and 2012 campaign, 3–4, 11–15, 18–19, 28, 35, 39–42, 70, 73, 339

victory speech by, 338

Obama, Michelle, 291, 302, 317

campaigning, 14, 15

convention speech by, 287, 288–89, 292

popularity of, 288

Obama for America, 318

Obama reelection team:

ads run by, 246–47, 249–51, 252–53, 254, 255–56, 258–59, 322–24, 344

analytics models of, 19, 75, 76, 80–82, 326–27

attention to detail of, 83–84, 326

and debates, 301, 303, 306–8, 309–10, 311–13, 314–15, 316

and election day, 18–19, 336, 337

ethnography project, 52–54

field operations, 74–78, 80–84, 234, 253, 318–19, 325–27, 351

and fund-raising, 253–54

management practices, 82–84

neighborhood team leaders (NTLs), 318

Organizing for America (OFA), 75, 79–82

and persuasion score, 327

and polarization, 276–78

and polls, 52–54, 310

research and data in, 51–55, 77–79, 82, 249, 262, 326–27

and social media, 78–79

state-by-state goals of, 82–83

and super PACs, 277

Targeted Sharing, 78–79

and technology, 74, 75–79, 84, 326, 336

training operation, 83

and “up for grabs” voters, 53, 318

volunteers, 80–82, 318, 325, 327

and voter outreach, 81–82, 83, 318–19, 326–27, 339, 348

O’Brien, Soledad, 207

Occupy Wall Street, 7, 70–71, 72

O’Connor, Ashley, 251

O’Donnell, Brett, 136, 147, 201

O’Donnell, Christine, 35, 180

Ohio:

auto industry in, 320–21, 323, 324–25, 333

as battleground state, 12, 59, 275, 299, 318–22, 324, 327, 332

collective bargaining rights in, 322

election results in, 332–33, 336, 345

field operations in, 325–26

Obama campaign in, 13–14, 253, 318–27

polls in, 329, 330, 345

Romney campaign in, 18, 221–23, 224, 299, 319–20, 322–26, 343, 345

Santorum in, 221–22, 343

2004 campaign in, 319–20

voting laws in, 322

Ohio State University, 321

Oklahoma:

Romney’s loss in, 224

Santorum’s victory in, 222–23

Olson, Ted, 314

Olympic Games:

London (2012), 272–73

Salt Lake City (2002), 31, 201, 217, 271

Oparowski, Ted and Pat, 283–84

Oppel, Richard A., Jr., 173

ORCA system, 335–36

O’Reilly, Bill, 161

Organizing for America (OFA), 75, 79–82, 325, 351n

Orlando, Florida, debate, 150–51, 157, 160

Orlean, Susan, 321

Osawatomie, Kansas, Obama campaign in, 3–4, 72–73

Owens, Bill, 102

Palatucci, Bill, 118, 123, 124, 268, 275

Palin, Piper, 113

Palin, Sarah, 102, 111–14, 130, 206, 265, 314

McCain-Palin ticket (2008), 62, 111, 112, 129, 264

and Tea Party, 106, 112, 113

and Tucson shooting, 112

and
The Undefeated,
113

Palin, Todd, 112, 113–14, 206

Panetta, Leon, 37

Parker, Ashley, 89, 273, 305

partisanship, 5, 45, 49, 50, 245, 277–78, 330, 349

Patrick, Deval, 95, 288

Paul, Ron:

as candidate, 91, 138, 140, 141, 178, 179, 183, 184, 220, 225, 343

and debates, 132, 155, 187, 201

in Iowa, 173–74, 177, 178, 179, 183

and libertarianism, 140, 173

and Tea Party, 173

Pawlenty, Mary Anderson, 121, 129, 134–35, 141, 265

Pawlenty, Tim, 46, 91, 102, 120, 121, 127–31

and Bachmann, 130, 137, 138, 140–41

Courage to Stand,
130

and debates, 132–33, 134–35, 138, 140–41, 181

downward spiral of, 138–41

as possible running mate, 265, 270, 273, 275

and Tea Party, 127

withdrawal of, 141–42, 159

“pay to play” rule, 267–70

PBS, 304

Pelley, Scott, 299

Pelosi, Nancy, 39

Pence, Mike, 91

Pennsylvania:

election results in, 334

Republican nomination contest in, 224

Romney campaign in, 17, 334, 345

Pentagon, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of, 38–39, 47

Perdue, Sonny, 133

Perino, Dana, 304

Perot, H. Ross, 8

Perry, Anita, 144, 145, 192

Perry, Jim, 308

Perry, Rick, 73, 139

background of, 143–44

candidacy of, 70, 143, 145–58, 173, 177, 186, 187, 190, 216, 220, 343

and debates, 149–52, 154–57, 160–61

Fed Up!,
145, 148

and fund-raising, 268

and immigration, 151, 154, 171, 228–29, 341

“oops” moment of, 156, 157, 158

and Tea Party, 143, 152

withdrawal of, 156–57, 159, 191–92

Pew Research Center, 245

Pfeiffer, Dan, 65

Pickrell, Aaron, 321, 325, 326

Pitt, Harvey, 268

Planned Parenthood, 227, 297

Plouffe, David:

and debates, 303, 306, 311, 312, 315

on election day, 19, 336, 337

research and data, 51, 52, 57, 80, 300

and 2008 campaign, 39

and 2012 campaign, 11, 12, 13, 60, 69–70, 71, 252, 254, 262

Podesta, John, 37

Poland, Romney’s trip to, 273

polarization, 3, 5, 8, 42, 48–49, 314

attack ads, 276–78, 353

and election results, 349–50

and new America, 239, 244–45

red and blue states, 16

Politico,
65, 149, 155, 156, 161, 164, 197, 305, 323

Polyansky, David, 136

populism, 4, 71, 72, 113

Portman, Rob:

ad-buying strategy of, 323, 324

campaigning with Romney, 222

and debate preparation, 18, 308, 309

as possible running mate, 266, 271, 273, 275

presidency:

and debates, 306, 311, 316–17

and foreign policy, 316

incumbents’ reelection to, 73

isolation of, 38

leadership needed in, 5, 27, 47, 349

qualities needed for, 5, 123, 181

presidential election (1960), 334

presidential election campaign (1968), and George Romney, 29

presidential election campaign (1980), and Reagan, 93, 131, 182

presidential election campaign (1984), and Reagan, 40, 136

presidential election campaign (1992), and Bill Clinton, 12

presidential election campaign (2000):

and campaign financing, 172

Democrats in, 78

presidential election campaign (2004):

Bush’s campaign, 40, 41, 78, 84, 123, 175, 300, 320, 323

Kerry’s campaign, 12, 24, 220, 250, 280, 283, 300, 319–20

Obama’s Democratic keynote address in, 12, 16, 24, 25, 283

presidential election campaign (2008):

after-election reports, 75–76, 82, 101, 332

campaign financing in, 351

fund-raising in, 41, 89, 91

Hillary-Obama primaries, 12, 289, 307, 311–12

lessons learned from, 90–91, 92, 137, 141, 168, 233, 254, 264

McCain-Palin in, 62, 111, 112, 129, 264

new voters in, 41

Obama’s candidacy in, 7, 14, 25, 62, 70, 79, 295

optimism expressed in, 3, 48, 49, 50, 51

Romney’s candidacy in, 5, 22–23, 33, 90–91, 95, 106, 129, 200

and social networking, 40

and technology, 40, 55, 77

television ads in, 91

presidential election campaign (2012):

attack ads in, 276–78, 352–53

basic questions in, 8, 96

Bill Clinton’s participation in, 12–15, 24, 40, 57–58, 182, 252, 315

campaign financing in, 173, 351;
see also
super PACs

as collision between philosophies, 3, 247