Deviating from or being untrue to the official or agreed upon view, plan, or ideology. We just feel like having a spokesperson with such strong religious convictions is a little off message for our organization. The candidate usually maintains an unflappable demeanor during these interviews, rarely stepping outside of a set of carefully crafted responses, so it was odd to see him going so drastically off message.

Remaining true to the official or agreed upon view, plan, or ideology. We just feel like our spokesperson has to be on message with our organization's strong religious beliefs. The candidate usually stays on message during these interviews, rarely stepping outside of a set of carefully crafted responses, so it was odd to see him go off on such a random, ranting tangent.