Keller @ Large: Donald Trump Wins First Part Of Presidential Race
BOSTON (CBS) - Presidential campaigns in the modern era typically have multiple stages - the primary phase where candidates compete for tactical supremacy; a middle period when the nominees have emerged and their basic character is tested and judged; and the closing stretch when voters make their call.
After Thursday night's split-screen political festival in Iowa where Donald Trump staged his own rally while the rest of the field debated across town, the winner of the first part of the race is clear.
Trump has outsmarted his opponents in all of the tactical aspects of the campaign. Others have raised far more money, although he has too, despite denying it.
But Trump has garnered tons of priceless free media exposure by expertly manipulating the day-to-day campaign buzz.
He outdid his adversaries in correctly identifying the real hot-button issues that would excite voters and arouse interest - immigration, jobs going overseas, and terrorism. His ideas on those topics may be little more than vague slogans, but it's not obvious that large numbers of voters are looking for much detail -- yet.
And Thursday night, he correctly figured he could avoid any risks of another live debate and still dominate the news cycle, raising money for vets, making nice to Fox News, even bringing out the last two Iowa caucus winners for a round of applause.
This is tactical brilliance in action.
I was wrong when I predicted Trump would show up for the debate in the end, but I think I'm right to predict Iowa voters won't punish him for skipping it.
Trump backers can only hope he survives the coming character test as well as he has this first round.
