KY Senate Race 2014: Getting lucky in Kentucky

[Mogrovejo]

I think this bad publicity is better than admitting that she did vote for Obama, because that would allow McConnell to run a barrage of ads featuring her saying that.

I disagree - I think an add with that cringe-inducing 30 seconds will be more damaging than an add with her saying she voted for Obama (which everybody already assumes anyway).

Chuck Todd said today that Grimes "disqualified herself". He's being over-dramatic, of course, but he has a point.  I don't understand why politicians do this. Just lie. Say something like "yes, but I regret it", "I thought it was the lesser evil", "I didn't, I wasn't comfortable with any of the choices", "Romney, and his views on women/poor/whatever, was simply an unacceptable choice for me", "There are rare instances when I don't vote Democratic and that was one of them", etc. I think virtually everything is better than that painful dodging.

[Mogrovejo]

I think this bad publicity is better than admitting that she did vote for Obama, because that would allow McConnell to run a barrage of ads featuring her saying that.

I disagree - I think an add with that cringe-inducing 30 seconds will be more damaging than an add with her saying she voted for Obama (which everybody already assumes anyway).

Chuck Todd said today that Grimes "disqualified herself". He's being over-dramatic, of course, but he has a point.  I don't understand why politicians do this. Just lie. Say something like "yes, but I regret it", "I thought it was the lesser evil", "I didn't, I wasn't comfortable with any of the choices", "Romney, and his views on women/poor/whatever, was simply an unacceptable choice for me", "There are rare instances when I don't vote Democratic and that was one of them", etc. I think virtually everything is better than that painful dodging.

Chuck Todd is a ridiculous concern troll. As if this is the biggest mistake a candidate has made all cycle.

Grimes not answering a question? OMG IT'S OVER SHE DISQUALIFIED HERSELF BIGGEST SCANDAL EVER

McConnell having to fire his campaign manager for literal bribery? Eh, who cares, it's irrelevant.

As I said, Todd was being over-dramatic, but that's no reason to emulate him.

I think that what happened afterwards validates my view that it was a mistake - a worse solution than just admitting she voted for Obama or that she wrote-in her dad's name, for example (well, maybe some other esteemed KY politician, if it was her father would come across as too self-centered). It doesn't matter if Todd was right on substance; it matters that he said it and it eventually ended up on an add for McConnell. Then she had to go through the same during the debate - it was easily her worst moment in what have otherwise been a good debate for her. It ended up in factchecks in local press claiming that in she's revealed who she voted for in the past. The issue still hasn't gone away while everybody thinks she voted to Obama and is hiding it by presenting disingenuous arguments.

I think Michelle Nunn handled the question much more graciously and efficiently (of course, it'd be even worse for Nunn to refuse to answer as it could depress AA turnout).