Duncan Wants to Know How Smart You Are

Governor

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan's campaign for governor has posted an online political quiz on newspaper websites.

The quiz is a subtle effort by Duncan to boost his name recognition while distinguishing himself from his opponent for the Democratic nomination for governor, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. The survey asks users to answer a series of questions about Maryland politics. The correct answer than appears.

Many of the questions have nothing to do with Duncan or O'Malley. But the survey includes several questions that could portray O'Malley in a negative light. "As Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley promised to reduce the number of homicides to 175. What is the actual number of homicides in Baltimore in 2005," one question reads.

Another question asks, "In his battle to reduce crime, how many different police chiefs has O'Malley had?"

Other questions are designed to highlight Duncan's record. (If we told you which ones, it might spoil the quiz for you.)

Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that Duncan, who trails O'Malley in fundraising, was looking for inexpensive and creative ways to take his message to the voters.

O'Malley campaign spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the quiz "failed to ask the most obvious question.

" Which candidate has shown the courage to tackle some of the toughest problems in America by bringing people together and making real progress on improving schools, crime reduction and economic development?" Abbruzzese said. "I don't want to give away the answer, but I think you may find a hint on Martin O'Malley's website."

By Tim Craig |  April 5, 2006; 12:25 PM ET  | Category:  Governor
Previous: Bombing Through the People's Business | Next: Schaefer on the Baltimore Schools

Comments

Please email us to report offensive comments.



That's right, Desperate Doug!...keep on keeping it negative, Bob Ehrlich will surely be indebted to you.

Posted by: Baltimore voter | April 5, 2006 2:01 PM

The quiz is oh-so-subtle too.

The opening animation warps the heads of everyone (including candidates for our open Senate seat)... except Duncan.

Posted by: corbett | April 5, 2006 3:33 PM

Come on, you don't have to like Duncan but give him credit for being creative and introducing a little humor into the campaign. I thought the quiz was effective.

Posted by: Prince George's voter | April 5, 2006 4:32 PM

I did score as a Political Wizard... so it was a tad effective. Flattery will get you everything.

Posted by: corbett | April 5, 2006 4:34 PM

One of the quiz questions reminded me of one of my pet peeves: Everyone keeps saying Doug Duncan is Irish. He isn't; he's of French extraction. Read the section of his website called "Meet Doug" and you'll see his "father fled the Nazis". So please stop saying the race for the nomination is between two Irishmen.

Posted by: Pepe le Moco | April 5, 2006 7:04 PM

Why does the question on most money spent per student in public schools have a grammatical error in it? And why is the name of one of Duncan's supporters spelled incorrectly?

Posted by: Anonymous | April 5, 2006 9:05 PM

Looks like Corbett and I are really, really sthmart! :D Oh, and by the way, to all of the "negative" feedback commenters, you sound desparate to say anything negative yourselves about Mr. Duncan.

In fact, I think the O'Malley campaign just might want to remain hush-hush about this quiz. My friend that was answering gave generous guesses in regard to O'Malley. Looks like her misconceptions about O'Malley earned her a very low score indeed. :D

Thanks for the fun Duncan Campaign! Hope to see more.

P.S. I sure hope DogCatcher and "under"Developed Doug bloggers don't take this quiz. It just may reveal how low their actual political IQ's are. You two may tank with this one. ;P

Posted by: Fighting Dem | April 6, 2006 12:08 AM

Hey Doug, here's a few more questions you could add:

1. Which candidate implemented official support of the "matricula consular" sham ID to enable illegal aliens from Mexico to apply for local government services?

2. Which candidate has overseen the largest county property tax increases in the state during his tenure?

3. Which candidate has accepted the greatest amount of campaign contributions from real estate developers?

Posted by: LW | April 6, 2006 4:56 AM

It sure seems that Mr. Duncan is using this web address to his political advantage and to get some unpaid attention. That's smart and it is raising his name recognition perhaps. Surprised the O'Malley folks aren't putting in more positive spin here too but perhaps they just don't need to.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 6, 2006 10:10 AM

I received "political wizard" and I support the winner for Gov -- Martin O'Malley. Guess that says it all.

Posted by: Irish lass | April 6, 2006 11:15 AM

I, too, got political wizard! Yay Doug- what a fun game :)

Posted by: Veronica | April 6, 2006 2:53 PM

Veronica, you, me and about 5 other people took the web quiz . . .

What does that tell you?

It tells you that yet again, Duncan is striking out when it comes to trying to raise his profile and name recognition outside of Montgomery County.

That sucks for Duncan, but it's great for O'Malley . . . I bet O'Malley's staff started popping champagne bottles over at O'Malley headquarters because the web quiz is yet another indication that Duncan has literally run out of cash and can't run tv ads, mail out any direct mail, etc.

What's next for the Duncan campaign? -- Hiring a plane to drag one of those cheesy signs behind the tail of the aircraft that says Duncan for Governor.

This Duncan campaign is really a disaster.

Posted by: DeveloperDoug | April 6, 2006 6:36 PM

They've fixed the grammatical error. Yet oddly, the spelling of Gov. Schaefer's last name is still wrong (the question of who was the last Republican governor). Not really on the ball.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 6, 2006 6:51 PM

Duncan forgot a question: What affluent county will never field a winning candidate for governor? Good luck, Doug, but the odds were against you from Day One. Anyway, this Democrat prefers Ehrlich over O'Malley. I don't trust O'Malley to build any roads.

Posted by: Gecko | April 7, 2006 3:23 PM

Well, the movers and shakers of the Duncan campaign obviously read this blog, since the spelling error is now fixed. Yeah, the campaign is pretty much a disaster. Which is a shame, because Duncan would do far better as Governor than any other options on the Democratic side.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 7, 2006 11:22 PM

Posted by: vore | April 9, 2006 12:37 AM

Good gimmick, but does it matter? DD can't raise money, can't find a person of note to run with him, can't make himself relevent in this race. He is a competent administrator in a wealthy county, not a charismatic leader tackling tough problems. His campaign is burning money in a desperate plea for attention that is never coming. DD is on a vanity run, he can't find a way to get out of the race gracefully bc he has run so negatively. No one wants to risk their cash or political career for a bronze medal. Its only a matter of time folks.

Posted by: rocket | April 9, 2006 12:50 AM

I believe the quiz was creative and a new approach in this political arena of overt critisism of opponents and personal mud sligging. Facts were simply stated. So please get past the simple spelling errors or grammatical areas...and look at the content.

I hope that informed voters focus on the issues and not on personalities and political allegiances or the simple...he spelled someones name wrong. Much is at stake here.

I believe Doug Duncan has a plan for the state...in the area of education, growth, financial accountability, etc...He also has the track record. Most importantly, Duncan is speaking to the people...actually out here speaking to the people in many different venues. I have not heard from the other two candidates, perhaps that is because I refuse to give my hard earned money to get a table and an entree` @ $300 - $1000 a pop. So again...until the other two candidates start talking to me and others like me in an arena that does not require hundreds of my dollars...then I don't know what they stand for and I can not make that ascertion through a web page.

Posted by: Independent Prince George's Voter | April 11, 2006 10:35 AM

I believe the quiz was creative and a new approach in this political arena of overt critisism of opponents and personal mud sligging. Facts were simply stated. So please get past the simple spelling errors or grammatical errors...and look at the content.

I hope that informed voters focus on the issues and not on personalities and political allegiances or the simple...he spelled someones name wrong. Much is at stake here.

I believe Doug Duncan has a plan for the state...in the area of education, growth, financial accountability, etc...He also has the track record. Most importantly, Duncan is speaking to the people...actually out here speaking to the people in many different venues. I have not heard from the other two candidates, perhaps that is because I refuse to give my hard earned money to get a table and an entree` @ $300 - $1000 a pop. So again...until the other two candidates start talking to me and others like me in an arena that does not require hundreds of my dollars...then I don't know what they stand for and I can not make that ascertion through a web page.

Posted by: Independent Prince George's Voter | April 11, 2006 10:38 AM

as a resident of montgomery county for the last 20 years, i have to say that Duncanonics has ruined this county. duncan has looted the taxpayers, and promoted crime, lowering living standards, and embracing higher taxes. he NEVER deliverd what he promised, and now he thinks the entire state is ready for his "think bigger" logic. the only thing duncan wants bigger is the state operating budget. he has gotten into bed with developers and asked the taxpayers to clean up the mess he's made with his illegal alien buddies. doug, those of us who know you well just add an "h" to your name, calling you fondly dough duncan, because you love any and all money you can get your hands on. the state of maryland cannot afford this dough boy, and even the illegals are collecting money to send you back to el salvador when you go down in bitter defeat in september.

Posted by: scp | April 13, 2006 11:23 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

 
 

© 2009 The Washington Post Company