Kissing Up to 300 Million People Is Hard Work

It’s not easy to win over an entire country — or at least a majority of its voters — without bruising some feelings. That’s particularly true in the early-primary states, where locals place high demands on presidential candidates, who, despite their best efforts, frequently step in it.

Here are a few recent examples, assembled by the Associated Press.

AP:

There are plenty more ‘don’ts’ on the list:

– Don’t schedule a trip without looking at a map, as aides to former Sen. John Edwards apparently did when they promoted a campaign swing through New Hampshire’s North Country, but included stops far from that region.

– Don’t forget where you are, as Giuliani apparently did when he referred to “the people here in Massachusetts” during a speech in New Hampshire. Not quite as bad, Obama repeatedly called New Hampshire’s Belknap County “Bell Camp” during an early trip.

– Don’t get the governor’s name wrong, as Thompson did with South Carolina’s Mark Sanford. (Thompson called him Sandford.)

Read more