RP SWOT Analysis - What do you think?

[Matt Collins]

In marketing there is something known as SWOT.
SWOT stands for:

-Strengths
-Weaknesses
-Opportunities
-Threats

Marketers draw 4 boxes and list things in each of the above categories.

So I am asking, what are RP's Strengths -Weaknesses -Opportunities -Threats?

Let's hear everyone's opinion.

[JPFromTally]

Reminds me of Marketing 101 in college all over again.

[wgadget]

Strengths - candor, intelligence, honesty, balls, humility, faithfulness to his wife and the Constitution, consistency, politeness



....just to start.

[wgadget]

Weaknesses - relative obscurity

[wgadget]

Opportunities - As the ONLY unique anti-war Republican (and Democrat), the opportunities should be unlimited. We just have to work hard to get his name out there.

[wgadget]

Threats - Possibly the entire Republican party and the MSM, who seem to fear giving RP any respect or exposure.

[Magsec]

Oh God I'm back in my Intro to Business course!

[Cindy]

-Strengths- Knows his stuff without note cards or people writing it for him

-Weaknesses- Often, his speaking sentences are choppy/doesn't get along well with many party leaders

-Opportunities- He takes a stand out position from his competitors and can back it up. America is on his side with the war.

-Threats- Age, Power of the Neocon Money and influence working against him.

[apropos]

Strengths:
=======
A message and platform that spans party lines. Country is on the brink of disaster with the status quo. Solutions offered are well thought out and make sense. Offers a 'unique' product via his platform compared to other candidates. Dedicated, proactive following. IRS and monetary stance. People are switching parties to vote for him.

Weaknesses:
==========
Inertia - people vote for name recognition. Obscurity. Time is against us. Americans aren't blessed with foresight.

Opportunities:
==========
He's a breath of fresh air in a country that is violently sick of the status quo. Name recognition is his main obstacle, as opposed to lack of message, stupidity, dirty past, etc. Our 24-hour media machine will reward the creativity of his campaign and his following if it is big enough. Current events are proving him right.

Threats:
======
Not in step with 'conventional wisdom'. Vested interests are aligned against him. MSM already has their golden boys and girls. Everyone else is pretty much left out to dry. Many will not be convinced, as they have thoroughly rationalized their beliefs. Apathy and laziness is still a big factor. GOP tries to ignore him.

[happyphilter]

S Strong opinion, Honest, good background, Different opinion
W Ideas may seem 'radical', Image, not well known
O The internet, young informed generation, war downturn could rally more support
T MSM skewed information, Uninformed voters deciding who to vote for the day of elections, war goes well it could drown his message

[Ridiculous]

Weakness- Although probably smarter than all of the other candidates combined, he is more intellectual than the average voter is used to. He is not good at speaking in sound bytes. His answers to questions require substantial history and economics lessons that he does not have the time to explain in interviews, nor is the average voter smart enough to understand. He is working against years of misinformation that people have been fed...

Should he dumb it down a bit, I don't know....

[Matt Collins]

Huckabee and Thompson are the biggest threats to Ron Paul. Huckabee will take the Christian vote, and Thompson will take the "conservative" vote.

[mconder]

The relationship he has with this wife, children and grandchildren should let you know the kind of President he will be. If you can't be an honest, strong leader to your family, your not qualified to be president in my opinion. If a man like Guiliani can screw over the people who are closest to him (family), how can you trust him to be true and faithful to the American public.

[Matt Collins]

If a man like Guiliani can screw over the people who are closest to him (family), how can you trust him to be true and faithful to the American public.A lot of people said that about Clinton

[shepburn]

S- Freedom Message
W- Name recognition
O- the GOP voters still are undecided
T- the establishment (GOP leaders, Media, etc)

[Ron Paul Fan]

Strengths- Me, grassroots movement, freedom message, anti-war stance, consistent voting record, has as much money as some 1st tier candidates.

Weaknesses- Name recognition, Americans who don't care about voting.

Opportunities- Strong conservative beliefs still to be promoted to many undecided voters, New Hampshire Primary, young people spreading the word and getting involved, the internet, more money means more media appearances and commercials.

Threats- Some of the mainstream media, Republican Party divided.

[davidhperry]

Strengths: sincere, principled, highly experienced, non ethnic/easy to pronounce name
Weaknesses: most Americans unfamiliar, age, individualistic personality abrasive to some people, some supporters are kooks
Opportunities: to win the Republican nomination and then the Presidency, to reorient the Republican party back to it's fundamental principles, to influence the dialog during the Presidential campaign
Threats: campaign looses steam by not raising enough funds, overzealous supporters turn potential voters away, continuous attacks from other GOP candidates erodes his support. The biggest threat is that we run out of time exposing enough people to Ron Paul before the primaries start. Folks, Ron Paul is still an unknown quantity to 7 out of 10 people out there. Please step things up to continue spreading the word.

[Matt Collins]

The biggest threat is that we run out of time exposing enough people to Ron Paul before the primaries start. Folks, Ron Paul is still an unknown quantity to 7 out of 10 people out there. Please step things up to continue spreading the word.Exactly Dave. Lack of name recognition is one of our biggest problems.

[Matt Collins]

Bump

[margomaps]

He has tons of strengths. I want to focus on improving the weaknesses.

Weaknesses: he needs to try to provide more precise answers to questions that matter to large segments of the population. To wit...

1) Like it or not, health care is a big issue for a lot of voters, and his plan for health care ("let the free market sort it out") is not going to cut it for many. He needs to be more clear about how it is that government involvement helped get us into the current health-care mess, and how free markets can help fix it.

2) Similarly with the environment: he has a lot of crossover appeal to young liberals, but -- like it or not -- global warming, energy policy, etc., are important to them. He needs to concisely explain that he does care very much about the environment, and say exactly why it is that his approach (again, "let the free market take care of it") will work. Many who think the environment is a key issue are not exactly well versed in free market economics, and if anything they've been led to believe that the "greedy corporations/free market" are destroying the environment. Paul needs to set them straight while at the same time being sympathetic to their cause.

3) Darfur, genocide, etc. Many people -- liberal or otherwise -- will see his unwillingness to send aid to Darfur/etc. as coldhearted. At UNH yesterday, Ron did a good job saying he was personally very troubled and saddened by the situation there. He did not do a good job of explaining why our federal government should take a hands-off approach to these kinds of issues. What I would love to see him do is say: "I believe Americans do have a moral obligation to help those in need. I am going to start an effort for volunteers to pitch in money for clothes, food, and medicine for the refugees in ______. I'll lead the way by donating $500. Will you join me?"

[Matt Collins]

Fascinating input. Thanks.

[Matt Collins]

3) Darfur, genocide, etc. Many people -- liberal or otherwise -- will see his unwillingness to send aid to Darfur/etc. as coldhearted.
LOL - I love how people think it's ok to invade a sovereign nation for 1 reason but not another. :rolleyes:

[Matt Collins]

Bump for relevence

[Matt Collins]

Bump again