Brad Phillips flags a recent interview with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and says that “every male presidential candidate — particularly the Republican nominee who will almost certainly be male and will almost certainly face Hillary Clinton — should watch it to avoid making the same mistake.”

A great tip from Brad Phillips for politicians and their staffs.

Nathan Gonzales: “Of course these phrases don’t guarantee success — a candidate’s party and the partisanship of the state or district will be a larger determining factor. But these sayings reflect an attitude and approach that will often set up a candidate for success.”

A guest post from Brad Phillips, author of The Media Training Bible.


If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember those old television commercials for the Christian Children’s Fund. In them, actress Sally Struthers sold viewers on the promise of saving a child for “the price of a cup of coffee.”

A quarter-century later, those ads are still memorable. And the way Ms. Struthers used numbers in those commercials is a big reason why. The ads succeeded by reducing numbers down to a manageable price tag for most viewers: “For about 70 cents, you can buy a can of soda….In Ethiopia, for just 70 cents a day, you can feed a child like Jamal nourishing meals.”

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The Cloakroom: Sometimes it’s alright just to tell them to “shut up.”