Political Lessons of 2016
Some interesting insights, though I suspect he's overselling some of the lessons. In a lot of ways this election was probably an aberration.
For example, when he says, "The era of the negative ad is dying," one wonders if negative advertising would have been more effective if Hillary Clinton wasn't also awful. I think that people applied a very steep automatic discount this year -- "Trump is horrible, Clinton is horrible, it's a wash." Negative messaging could be more effective if the election pits a reputable candidate against a reprobate.
Moreover, I think Trump's negative ads were probably quite effective. They were very well done, and quickly responded to current news. Trump's ads focused on Clinton's policy failures and criminal actions. And, because he saved them for the last three weeks of the campaign they were also fresh.
As for "passion and enthusiasm," I think Morris is misreading the mood of the electorate. Trump won, despite his negatives, because Trump wasn't what people were voting for. People were voting their frustrations; and Trump, as "not part of the system" was their chance to do so. (I'm talking perceptions here...)
Finally, advertising -- including in the free and social media, as well as TV. People certainly don't trust it, but perhaps it's because of the messaging, rather than the medium. Speaking for myself, I find that it's a lot easier to pay attention to positive ads that focus on "I'm going to do these things." I found Gary Johnson's ads, and some of Trump's, to be effective for just that reason. Clinton ran very few of these -- she had no palatable policies, so my recollection is that her positive ads tended to focus on vague personal qualities that were clearly at odds with her behavior.
