There are a huge list of democratic consultants who consistently lose national races and yet it never seems to affect their future job prospects.
Over his 30-year career, Shrum has worked on the campaigns of seven losing presidential candidates–from George McGovern to Bob Kerrey–capping his record with a leading role in the disaster that was the Gore campaign. Yet, instead of abiding by the “seven strikes and you’re out” rule, Democrats have continued to pay top dollar for his services (sums that are supplemented by the percentage Shrum’s firm, Shrum, Devine & Donilon, gets for purchasing air time for commercials). Although Shrum has never put anyone in the White House, in the bizarro world of Democratic politics, he’s seen as a kingmaker–merely hiring the media strategist gives a candidate such instant credibility with big-ticket liberal funders that John Kerry and John Edwards fought a fierce battle heading into the 2004 primaries to lure Shrum to their camps. Ultimately, Shrum chose Kerry, and on Nov. 3, he extended his perfect losing record.
Shrum is the type of consultant who advise John Kerry not to address swift boat garbage, pick a lame empty suit R.F.K. clone John Edwards as a running mate and take the pulse of the nation by talking to their peers on K-Street. These types of political minds have been steering the democratic party for decades. The results speak for themselves.