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Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Bob Shrum finally quits the game
It's amazing that a consultant who is 0 for 8 in Presidential contests -- a man whose most famous moment was a concession speech delivered by Ted Kennedy in 1980 -- could continue getting jobs in politics. Finally, this man is taking himself out of the game. The New York Times's Katharine Q. Seelye reports:
Bob Shrum, one of the dominant Democratic political strategists and speechwriters of the last three decades, said Wednesday that he was ending his formal consulting career and moving to New York, where he would write and teach at New York University as a senior fellow.There is no reason to make one man a scapegoat for the losses faced recently by the Democratic Party in Presidential contests. That having been said, Shrum is at least partly responsible to the losses by Al Gore and John Kerry. As such, it's good to see him making room for a new generation on strategists.
"I wanted to reflect on what I've done, not just keep doing it," Mr. Shrum, 61, said in an interview. "And I wanted to draw lessons from what I'd seen and draw implications for the future."
He leaves Washington with a mixed record, having served as an adviser on 26 winning Senate campaigns, perhaps more than any other consultant, but also eight losing presidential campaigns, which may also stand as a record.
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