Tsunami Tuesday

Landau, James James.Landau at NGC.COM
Fri May 11 13:41:18 UTC 2007


An obvious coinage, but I haven't heard it before.  From Time Magazine
on-line

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1619300,00.html

<quote> 
Behind Giuliani's Pro-Choice Gamble
Thursday, May. 10, 2007 By DAVID VON DREHLE <javascript:void(0)>  
<snip>it is the first tangible sign that a candidate has done some hard
thinking about the radically changed nature of this year's primary
schedule and, in Giuliani's case, decided that the reign of social
conservatives is coming to an end. 
<snip>
Giuliani's move is a clear bet that social conservatives' power in the
nominating process will be broken bv Tsunami Tuesday - the Feb. 5
super-primary featuring such mass-market states as New York, California
and New Jersey.
</quote>
Another new (to me) term in the article:  "spatial positioning." 
<quote>
Giuliani's strategic move is a textbook case of what economists and
political scientists call "spatial positioning." It works like this:
Picture a football stadium with a central entrance and grandstands
stretching to the left and right. Two snack vendors set up shop next to
each other at the entrance, where all the potential customers must pass.
But suppose one of them moves to the right a little way to try to escape
competition. The best strategy for the other vendor is to follow close
behind, setting up just to the left of the first. That way, he gets some
of the customers on the right-hand side of the stands, plus all the
customers coming from the left. 
Giuliani is trying to be that savvy second vendor - allowing his
competitors to cluster on the right while he stakes out a position
slightly closer to the middle. Thanks to the early primary schedule he
is banking on, we'll know soon enough if the gamble pays off. 
</quote>
     - Jim Landau
"Live so that you will not be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the
town gossip" - found in a fortune cookie

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