No Gary Hart Bounce for DeSantis or Haley

Forty years ago, when Walter Mondale won 49 percent in Iowa’s Democratic caucuses, far ahead of Gary Hart’s 16 percent, the media spotlight nonetheless immediately focused. With the help of a brilliant spot by consultant Ray Strother showing him tossing a hatchet into a tree, Hart went on to win the New Hampshire primary eight days later, 37 percent to 28 percent, and he suddenly became the favorite.

At the time, I thought Mondale’s performance was a more significant story than Hart’s. But only when Mondale, in debate, lampooned Hart’s platform as flimsy by echoing a Wendy’s “where’s the beef?” ad did the former vice president turn the race around, and he cinched the nomination only in the last primaries that June.

Read Full Article Here