No Make-good

When you make a mistake this egregious, there is no make-good — even a public apology isn’t sufficient. How the campaign made such an error is still unknown, and the candidate, Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, says she wasn’t the one at fault. From a PR perspective, it is an indication of sloppiness in communications operations and materials. The first rule is accuracy, and it is obvious someone violated it. In an era of “fake news” when people make up facts as they go along, there is a premium on getting it right the first time. Heitkamp should know that, and now she has to struggle with an unforced error. Campaigns are difficult enough without making obvious goofs.