Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

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February 09, 2010

Palin's Soundbite Strategy

While Sarah Palin does poorly in extended interviews, last weekend's speech showed she has mastered the art of the soundbite. More important, she has used it to maintain a very high political profile even though she holds no public office.

Chris Cillizza: "From a raw political perspective, Palin's soundbite strategy is extremely effective -- handing her supporters a single line (or two) around which to rally in opposition to the President's agenda."

Marc Ambinder: "Palin speaks in 140-word epigrams: fragments that are icky to the ears of more polished speakers but convey meta-data -- she understands this."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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