Candidates Should Carefully Craft First Impressions

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza does a good job of describing the importance of a campaign announcement:

The announcement of a candidacy for president can leave a lasting impression.

While it's only a single day in a marathon campaign, it's also the first glimpse that many voters get of a candidate. And, as we all know, first impressions matter.

He's right. Whether you're running for President of City Council, first impressions matter. At the same time, I've seen a lot of candidates have great announcements, only to fizzle.

An announcement is important, but it should also be thought of as just the opening salvo of a very long campaign ...