By Richard Lee

When a candidate reacts to his or her opponent’s message, it is a significant moment in a campaign.

It means that your opponent realizes your message is working and that you have changed the conversation. Your opponent now has to talk about the topics you want to talk about — not the topics that comprise his or her message.

We may have seen an example of this scenario last week with the Biden campaign. The president’s opponents have been subtly (and not so subtly) raising questions about the president’s age. The Biden campaign, in its public comments, has been dismissing the age issue, and trying to shift the focus to the president’s record.

But a new Biden ad about his visit to Ukraine appears to indirectly address concerns about the president’s age by highlighting what the long journey to Ukraine entailed. Take a look.

Richard Lee, executive director of the Jandoli Institute, is a professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University. He covered politics and government as a reporter and later served as Deputy Director of Communication for two New Jersey governors.

Categories: Jandoli Institute, Media, Politics, Richard Lee, Uncategorized