Message: Pandering works

I think the big lesson coming out of Tuesday's Michigan primary is that telling voters exactly what they want to hear—in this case, Mitt Romney's promise to somehow bring back auto-industry jobs—is a recipe for success. In his concession speech, John McCain said, "[W]e went to Michigan and did what we always do: We told ...

I think the big lesson coming out of Tuesday's Michigan primary is that telling voters exactly what they want to hear—in this case, Mitt Romney's promise to somehow bring back auto-industry jobs—is a recipe for success. In his concession speech, John McCain said, "[W]e went to Michigan and did what we always do: We told the truth."

I think the big lesson coming out of Tuesday's Michigan primary is that telling voters exactly what they want to hear—in this case, Mitt Romney's promise to somehow bring back auto-industry jobs—is a recipe for success. In his concession speech, John McCain said, "[W]e went to Michigan and did what we always do: We told the truth."

McCain had argued that the same old jobs are simply gone and it's better to innovate than live in the past. I think he's right on the merits, and it was a message that Bill Clinton once used to great effect in 1992. But to Michigan voters, it must have felt like McCain was rubbing salt in fresh wounds. McCain needs to learn that a spoonful of sugar (i.e. empathy) will help the most bitter medicine go down. Check out this famous scene from the 1998 film Primary Colors, and you'll see what I'm talking about:

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