What do Republican operatives, fund-raisers, talking heads, and consultants do during a GOP convention when there's no drama, no suspense, and almost nothing to spin? Why, they spin anyway. And how do they know what to spin? In Philadelphia, they got their marching orders at a 9 A.M. daily meeting in the hotel room of Charlie Black, who's been involved in every GOP presidential campaign since Barry Goldwater's.
The best and the brightest of the Republican professional class showed up: California strategist Ken Khachigian, pollster Linda DiVall, Washington publicist Craig Shirley, conservative leader David Keene, lobbyists Wayne Berman and Craig Fuller, and many others. Each morning, an envoy from the Bush campaign appeared to give a briefing. On Tuesday, the Bushie was Matthew Dowd, a polling expert, former Democrat, and assistant to Karl Rove, Bush's chief strategist. He had good news. A Gallup poll had asked a different sort of question: Will you vote or consider voting for Bush? What about Gore? Bush fared wildly better, with 62 percent. Gore got 46 percent.
A prime talking point emanating from the Black group was one you've probably already heard: Those Democratic TV ads attacking running mate Dick Cheney didn't work. Post-attacks, Cheney's favorable rating stood at 47 percent, unfavorable at 17 percent. "So much for negative ads," concluded a Black attendee. He might have been spinning.