Voodoo (Economics) Won't Work Here
Or:
For Want of a Campaign Tactic
By Cyrus P. Underwood
"It just isn't going to work, and it's interesting that he's invested in this type of what I call a Voodoo Economic policy."
-George H. W. Bush
"The essential ingredient of politics is timing."
-Pierre Trudeau
Preamble
Meet John Sears, political strategist and campaign manager for Ronald Reagan. He served with Reagan since he decided to run for president in 1976. That time Reagan was challenging President Ford and lost. Now it's 1980 and Ford is out of office. The time had come for Reagan to get the nomination and win the presidency.
However, there was a snag and his name was George Herbert Walker Bush. He had won the Iowa caucus and Sears had told Reagan to stay above the fray. Now he was losing and if Reagan lost in New Hampshire, his candidacy would be over. Sears knew that he was going to be fired. Not only had he suggested that losing strategy but he was also firing Reagan loyalists. Not only that but Nancy Reagan, Ronald's wife, hated him.
So when Bush challenged Reagan to a one on one debate before the New Hampshire primary, Sears saw a chance. At the last minute the Reagan campaign would invite the other candidates to the debate. Bush would either invite them on stage and dilute the anti-Reagan vote or refuse to do that and look like he wanted the power for himself. Bush did the later and Reagan managed to come out on top. Reagan won New Hampshire, the nomination and two terms as president.
And Sears? He was indeed fired. It was on the night of the New Hampshire primary in fact. But what if Sears was fired before he could implement his strategy to save Reagan? What if the other candidates were never invited at the last minute to that debate?
This is the answer I found because, as has been noted elsewhere, Voodoo (Economics) Won't Work Here.