Kerry's Main Guy, Bob Shrum, Let His Speechwriter Go

[KittyWampus]

Shrum also canned the other guy who had worked on the ads, not long ago.

What does anyone know about Mr. Shrum?

I've seen him on Crossfire and thought he did reasonably well.



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http://www.tnr.com/blog/campaignjournal?pid=1526

For months Kerry has relied on two heavy-hitting ad-makers to produce his television spots, Bob Shrum of Shrum, Devine & Donilon, and Jim Margolis of GMMB. Margolis reports that he will no longer be serving Kerry in that role...

"...due to proposed contract changes we could not come to an understanding that we regarded as workable. While we will continue to provide media placement services for the Kerry campaign, our strategic and advertising responsibilities will end."

Ever since Shrum joined the campaign last year, insiders have taken bets on how long the relationship with Margolis would last. The two men didn't know each other well, and in recent years often fiercely competed for the same political clients. Shrum is not known as a shrinking violet, and Margolis's ouster will undoubtedly be seen as evidence that Shrum, Kerry's closest adviser, is consolidating power inside the campaign. It's not clear yet if Shrum's firm will now handle all the advertising and strategy or if he will bring in another partner.

[NMDemDist2]

1. He needed a better writer I think

I saw him on C-Span last nite and the speech was tighter

[yardwork]

4. I hope Kerry's speeches lose the long words and dependent clauses.

He needs to make short statements that are to the point.

This is politics not academics.

[KittyWampus]

2. Well, For Anyone's Information:

Over the years, Shrum has become the most sought-after consultant
in Democratic politics. He has helped to elect numerous governors
and congressmen. Nearly a third of the Democrats in the Senate won
their jobs with his help. He has ghostwritten many of the most
significant speeches of the past decades, earning him a reputation as
what one Clinton veteran calls the "dean of Democratic
speechwriters."

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/05/lizza.htm

[blm]

3. He's a major force for populism.

He usually butts heads with the more centrist advisors. He wrote Gore's populist heavy speech at the Dem convention.

[BabsSong]

5. Somebody should can the jackasses who are doing these commercials

For Christ's sake we don't have a lot of bucks but why are we wasting them on these "vote for Joe for Student Council" asinine ads?? We need compare and contrast ads where we tell what Bush did to screw us and what Kerry is going to do to un-screw us. These ads must have Rove laughing his guts out. They are pathetic. It's time to shake Kerry's campaign staff tree and let these DLC/left-over Clinton people drop. Even Time magazine can see that these people are killing Kerry. Look at Bush's ads---look at ours---now, sober up and bitch to this campaign until Kerry "gets it". He had to fire these same type of people to pull off Iowa and now he's back with them. If he doesn't fire them soon, this is over before it begins.

[John_H]

6. For the record, Keery's speechwriter is still on board. The article

is about his advertising people.

[BabsSong]

7. Well, that's even better---about time someone did something

about these stupid, sophomoric ads. Gosh, doom and gloom (or fucking reality) must have finally gotten to them-----gasp, you mean it's NOT 'early' and we "are falling behind badly"??? Maybe if people like us had awakened a bit earlier and started bitching they wouldn't have wasted how much precious ad money on squat!!! But, we prefer the "upbeat" to reality assessment, don't we?????

[KittyWampus]

9. NYTimes Had An Article Friday, Speechwriter Got Canned Too

can't remember his name though.

[UTUSN]

8. Shrum (& Beckel) Are Good Dems, But...

they don't "translate" to cool media t.v. They are LOUD, abrasive. But of course we give too much information away to the freeeper-lurkers here.