Hagel for President? Not Unreasonable.

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel has been attracting attention as a potential candidate for the presidency of the United States. Hagel is a moderate Republican from the Heartland and his Nebraska bred values are reflected in his politics. Nebraska is famous for a great football team and its one-house, non-partisan legislature. In this heavily red state (no pun intended), it is not common for a Democrat to seek and win office. Other well known Nebraskans are former Republican Governor and very effective Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns as well as Democrats: former Governor and Senator Robert Kerry and current US Senator Ben Nelson. This pragmatic state is home to rural agriculture, insurance, and one of America's richest men, Warren Buffet who still lives in the same home he had when he started business in Omaha. Nebraskans are more apt to elect the best person for the office and not fall hard along party lines.

Hagel could end up as a serious contender as an independent candidate for president. We've had some serious discussions with our moderate Democratic friends in the media industry. There are strong feelings from reasonable Democrats and Republicans that are tired of the arguing from the far sides of both parties; we all want to get back to a civil system in which positive discussion over issues leads to results and not self-serving political results. If anyone can pull it off, Hagel will be the one.

The surface problem with Senator Hagel is that extreme conservatives (and even some moderates) have painted him as soft on war and even questioned his loyalty as a Republican when he challenges the president. This criticism is easily stripped away when his positions are examined. Chuck Hagel is thoughtful, not afraid to confront an issue, and make the appropriate choice based on the right thing to do and not party loyalty. With the memory of the passing of Gerald R. Ford fresh in our memory, it is hard not to make a comparison. Hagel is intellectually honest, respected by many on both sides of the isle. The Nebraska Senator and Vietnam vet probably stands the best chance of uniting the country, winning or bringing the most positive conclusion the war, and setting our country on the best possible course.

Of course, we always try to introduce our media and advertising spin to the blog. This is really our biggest concern. We're rather sure that Bush isn't stupid, but his on-camera public presentations are laughable. Certainly, President Clinton is glib, but lacked the same ability to gain the confidence of the American people and not come off as an infomercial host. We've been longing for a president that can inspire the country with a Reaganesque flare. – Hagel needs to inspire the American voters while the Republicans and Democrats are sparring. Hagel's soft-spoken bull-dog like persona must be transformed into inspirational speaker and cheerleader for America. If we were his campaign director we would be ordering a full compliment of VHS tapes from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California and start Chuck studying the master of communication, himself.

Here are the things that need to be done as Hagel "brands himself" for president. We have experience at this, we did the advertising work for one independent Nebraska candidate and "freaked out" the Republicans so much, they sent an adviser from Des Moines, Iowa in an attempt to fix the problem – our candidate was up in the poles and attracting voters at a cost of about $.50 (fifty cents!) per vote versus the Republican's more than $15+ per vote. In fact, toward the end of the election the Republican candidate wanted to jump ship from his advertising agency and hire us. Then again, we get paid on results and not a fee for service. We may be small, but we get results for national clients.

The objectives should be:

• Voters must understand at least 3 key factors that differentiate Hagel from the Republican or Democratic candidate.
  
• Voters need to clearly understand why voting for Hagel is important to them as a citizen.
  
• Any and all advertising should be genuine, testimonials by people that tell his story for him. It is just more credible. Not his mother! If I see one more warm and fuzzy commercial with a politician hugging the kids and playing with the dog, I'll vomit. It is contrived.
• He has to make personal and genuine connections with voters, much like we do for our clients in the music industry.
  
• Don't use social networking and myspace unless genuine contact can be made with users.
  
• Use weekly, on-line chats with Chuck and encourage a personal blog that doesn't look managed.
  
• We need to repeat this because advertising agencies are clueless. The message has to be created from the perspective of the voter. It is not who he is, but what he means to the individual voter.
  
• No attack ads, even to answer false accusations.
• Grassroots! Word of mouth is the least expensive. Personally, I would never waste a dime on broadcast advertising. It does not get good results for the cost. In fact, we eliminate broadcast for most of our clients and boost their sales as much as 800%. There are much more effective methods.
  

Hagel's Blogspot Space
Hagel's Congressional Web Site