AP Photo Bush deploys 'look over here' strategy ahead of fundraising figures

Amid revelations that Jeb Bush's fundraising juggernaut has slowed, his campaign appears to have deployed a "look over here" strategy to distract from the forthcoming official release of just how much money it brought in last quarter.

First came the news of his Hispanic leadership team, leaked in advance.


There also was the Fox News exclusive: Not only will Bush be releasing his third-quarter campaign finances, but he'll be pairing it with his medical records, a bundling report and his 2014 tax information.

Then the announcement of a candidate roundtable on domestic violence — with the subject line "Important Update" that the campaign all but begged reporters to cover: "We are confident that given the importance of this issue, you will give it the attention it deserves," a spokeswoman admonished the media.

The note also seemed to needle reporters for requesting advanced notice of Bush's campaign financials, due in the form of a Federal Election Commission filing later on Thursday, not only from Bush but all 2016 candidates. A number of contenders, however, have already released their third-quarter figures.

"We have listened to your comments over the past two weeks requesting updates on important news coming on the 15th before it breaks," said the spokeswoman, Allie Brandenburger. "So in that spirit, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide information for all of you on news Jeb is making this morning in New Hampshire. "

In a statement, campaign press secretary Tim Miller emphasized that the note was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

"This email — as every other outlet that received it understood — was a good-natured joke with our friends in the media," Miller said. "We look forward to releasing our finances this afternoon with the rest of the field and are confident we are in strong financial position vs. our opponents in this primary."

It's a classic news cycle management strategy — the cousin of Friday news dump — and it all but ensures that the Bush camp is preparing to reveal an underwhelming cash position, after stunning with a $114 million haul between his campaign and super PAC during the first half of the year.

And the Bush team isn't alone. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who also hasn't yet released his third-quarter numbers, decided to unveil his campaign's most comprehensive policy platform of the year Thursday. It began with a leak to The Associated Press of a balanced-budget proposal. He also issued an op-ed in The Washington Post, declaring Washington D.C., "obsolete."