From a (darn good) D.C. professional:
As a p.r. man, I absolutely love what he did. It’s a classic p.r. technique that some call “hanging a lantern on your problem.” It’s an adaptation of the lemons/lemonade adage. Rather than take heat from the letter, he used it to his (enormous) advantage.
He not only made the Senate dems look ridiculous, he garnered enormous positive p.r. (cheering from conservatives for sticking it to the libs; cheering from nearly everyone else for giving the proceeds to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation).
Brilliant. There’s a reason he’s the best showman on the radio.