Jim Messina: Platner’s Victory Speech Was “A Master Class,” “Perfect Political Theater”–“A Star Is Born”
Jim Messina, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, gushed about Graham Platner’s Maine Senate primary victory speech with Jen Psaki on MS NOW.
JIM MESSINA: I thought that was a master class. I don’t know if he wrote that or who wrote that, but that was really good. And the fact that he, one year ago, wasn’t a politician, and then he delivers that in front of basically the entire country – I thought that was, you know, you’re seeing a star is born. And you’re seeing how a guy who no one had heard of a year ago – even in Maine, no one had heard of him – just beat the incumbent governor in a primary. And so I thought it was amazing. I, too, thought the first two minutes of that speech was amazing when he said, If you believe we can change the system, then you’ve got to believe that people can change. And I know people can change because I have. Relating it to that, I thought, was perfect political theater, and it’s true. And then coming back later, saying, Hey, this race isn’t about me. This race is about us. As you remember, that was a very big Obama line in 2008. He was the vehicle for people’s hopes and dreams. I think Platner putting it not about himself and building it to about all of us, and then delivering the line you talked about – there’s nothing that people get more mad about than a broken political system. And they realize the deck is stacked against them, and they realize why the deck is stacked: because of money. And so that line, I thought, was a brilliant political move. And I think it’s a guy who understood the moment he was in.
