In rational times, the idea of a major presidential campaign grinding almost to a halt in the final week before an election would be considered as an example of a collapse or at least a major cause of concern over that candidate. This would apply doubly if that candidate's physical and mental stamina had been questioned. However, in the bizarro world of the 2020 campaign, this is being hilariously spun by Politico as a brilliant move on the part of the Joe Biden campaign.
Yes, no cause for concern at all. In fact, according to Politico this campaign slowdown just when the pace of campaigning should be picking up is really because "Biden flips script on Trump in campaign’s final week."
The Monday article by Politico spin doctors David Siders and Christopher Cadelago reveals that the near hibernation of patient Biden is really part of a brilliant campaign plan.
Donald Trump is chasing every possible opening across the electoral map. Joe Biden is sitting on his lead, carefully surveying the landscape for states that might serve as insurance policies.
It’s a jarring flip of the script for an incumbent president and his challenger eight days before Election Day. Trump, in the last gasp of his campaign, is barreling across the country, hoping large rallies and bets placed across the board will pay off for his underdog campaign. Biden is doing fewer and smaller events — and even peering past the election toward governing.
Yes, that worked so well for President Thomas Dewey during his 1948 campaign.
Biden is stumping at a more measured pace. His weekend featured just two events in one swing state. On Tuesday, he’ll visit Georgia — a red state Trump is at risk of losing — a luxury play for a Democratic nominee, enabled by Biden’s solid positioning elsewhere.
...In contrast, Sevugan said, “If [Biden] comports himself like a president, he’s doing the campaign work, he’s offering the strongest contrast he can … that is the thing that people want to see more than anything else, especially amongst independent voters, amongst undecided voters and amongst Democrats.”
So a presidential candidate does not have to actually campaign if he "comports himself like a president" since "he's doing the campaign work" by not campaigning. Is Joe Biden's secret campaign manager Joe Meacham who, as editor of Newsweek, came up with the "brilliant" strategy of making that magazine a success by purposely cutting its circulation in half?
P.S. Newsweek soon afterwards sold for a grand total of a buck.
