Pollster Names Empower America Co-Director William J. Bennett As the Nation’s Single Best Communicator of 2002

In a story that appeared in today’s Washington Times, pollster and MSNBC focus group analyst Frank Luntz listed the year’s best political communicators based on focus groups and listening sessions that he conducted across the country.

Mr. Luntz identified those he concluded are the strongest voices from Congress and within the Bush administration. But according to Mr. Luntz, the “single best communicator of 2002” is Empower America co-director William J. Bennett:

“[William J. Bennett’s] message of pride, patriotism, faith and moral conviction is exactly what Americans want to hear right now. Several people almost broke their dials registering their approval.”

The following is the text of The Washington Times article:

Inside the Beltway By: John McCaslin

The Luntz List

With the season of awards shows upon us, we asked Republican pollster and MSNBC focus group guru Frank Luntz to name the year’s best political communicators.

“In this town, creating a list like this is the surest way to make enemies,” Mr. Luntz told us. Nevertheless, here’s how some of Washington’s political elite have scored in the pollster’s dial groups and listening sessions across the country.

Among Democrats, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut has returned to the top spot as the party’s best message-meister.

“The way he presents himself, it is virtually impossible to tell whether he is a Republican or Democrat – and that’s what voters like,” says Mr. Luntz. The one word people most often use to describe him: “reasonable.”

Mr. Luntz also singles out Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as a very strong communicator, but with a caveat. “Up through the fall, Daschle was incredible,” he says. “His soft-spoken demeanor and laid-back approach won over virtually everyone. But his more partisan tones in the past two months are hurting him among swing voters.”

Among Republicans, President Bush ranks first (“the dials go through the roof”), and several in his administration, most notably Vice President Richard B. Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, “are home runs almost every time they speak.”

In fact, Mr. Luntz refers to them as the “Sonny and Cher” of the administration.

“Cheney is so calm and so earnest in his words and delivery that it’s impossible not to like him or agree with him, while Rumsfeld is the wisecracking, in-your-face [smart aleck] that makes you want to listen,” he says.

Two congressional Republicans are also communication standouts: Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma. “People simply agree with what they say and how they say it,” says Mr. Luntz.

But the Luntz award for the single best communicator of 2002 goes to former Education Secretary William J. Bennett.

“His message of pride, patriotism, faith and moral conviction is exactly what Americans want to hear right now. Several people almost broke their dials registering their approval.”