Quote:
Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror
Marlee may have tipped her hand when she admitted to the interviewers on the previous show that she felt that she had tapped out her donors. Did JR know that? I'm not sure, but if he did, he might have taken that as an advantage. I don't think it was fair necessarily, but Trump said (fairly, IMO) that he couldn't give JR credit for it. Did he consider it? We'll never know. Marlee said that she could have rasied more money, but given what she said in the interview, I wonder if that's true.
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I wonder .. foolish imo to discuss any concerns you had about the interview or any weaknesses probed during it with a competitor. I have no idea how much time elapsed between interviews and the boardroom session which established JR and Marlee as the finalists though I'd have thought not much. Marlee must have developed a feel for JR's competitiveness and determination to win, so I'd be surprised if she admitted a concern about fundraising outside the interview. However given the huge amount she had raised in her fundraiser, I think JR would have thought it was likely she might well be tapped out.
I think going into the final task JR may well have thought through all his and Marlee's strengths and weaknesses, and considered what threats her strengths might pose to his success, as well as what opportunties he could use to impress Trump. JR might not label the technique
but he was hugely determined. He must have felt pretty confident that he brought a range of capable leadership skills to the table, as well as stronger all round performance as a PM. The one task where he'd gone up against her and lost was the fund raiser, which had doubtless shocked him at the time given the amount he raised, so it was one area that could give her an edge in Trump's eyes when he made his final decision. Imo it was the main reason she got to the final two and JR must have considered this as a possibility and the main area in which Trump could see her as having out-performed him, and the thing he kept referring to as an amazing achievement.
Fair or not, it was a good tactic, and I'd judge not too hard to execute. St Judes is not only a worthy charity, but I suspect a well-endowed one with many deep pockets supporting it. The donations JR called in were not part of a fundraising task where they might be finally divertd to another charity, and were cheques made out to St Judes. But by giving them the donors would be not only be supporting St Judes; they could put the icing on the cake to help ensure JR's victory which would bring a further $250K to the cause. That's how I'd have presented it
In the final analysis, the last task is not (and shouldn't be) the only factor in determining the winner but a chance to make the best final impression. JR must have felt pretty confident based on his overall performance, but imo was determined to shine in any areas where he might be seen as not as strong as his rival. He knew it would impress Trump to go beyond the brief .. and he was right
Imo he knew Marlee's biggest strength to date was that million, and he set out to show Trump he could match it, did so, and emphasised that fact.
Of course we can't know if Marlee could have done the same, but she too would have had the same advantage when approaching donors this time ie the money would definitely go to her charity, and could give her an advantage and secure the CA winner's cheque. But she's less fiercely competitive than JR imo; she didn't anticipate what he'd do and didn't use the same tactic.
JR deserved to win based on his performance throughout, and the final fundraising would imo have further convinced Trump (who in my view is a bottom line, "Show me the money; your ethics and beliefs are your business, where are the results?" guy) but were not the decider. Still .. had Marlee used the same tactic and brought in another million? We'll never know if she could have done .. but imo it would have impressed
the hell out of Trump ..
First words in the show signature song .. Money, money, money, MONey
Caryl