Washington, DC — Despite the fact consultants in general are overrated when it comes to assessing why a candidate wins or loses, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s loss of GOP consultant Mike Murphy is a major blow to Romney’s presidential ambitions.
As reported in the Boston Globe today by Brian Mooney, Murphy is “stepping back” from Romney, and this move “has long been the subject of intense speculation because of Murphy’s close relationship with McCain, who lost a bruising battle to George W. Bush for the Republican nomination in 2000.”
Reports the Globe, “A Republican operative with knowledge of the situation said that McCain’s camp was growing increasingly irritated with Murphy’s continued employment with Romney as the Massachusetts governor raised his national profile. ”There was no big blowup or impropriety because Murphy has the confidence of both Romney and McCain, but the time came when he had to absent himself from the scene,” the operative said. ”I guess he gets a gold star for being honorable. Very few of those are given out in politics.”
Having known Murphy for a number of years, I can categorically say he not only possesses an impeccable level of integrity, as corroborated by his action, but he’s also just about the most talented and experienced all around media and communications consultant in the GOP today.
Sure, he creates TV spots — damn good ones — but he also has a hand in the day to day operations of the campaign press operation, and has a great understanding and intuitive feel for the game and the state of play on any given day. He’s also a superb companion on the road with his candidates, and helps to shape the press coverage as well as steer his clients away from gaffes and pratfalls.
No matter how it’s spun, Murphy’s step away from Romney creates a huge hole in his operation when it comes to creative talent, and having someone on his team who truly knows the ropes.
Watch for Romney’s team to make some mistakes as the ’08 jockeying continues to heat up.