The+Campaign+Game

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= = **Chapter 9: Nominations and Campaigns**  I.  The Campaign Game

o Candidates allocate scarce resources of time, money, and energy to achieve political objectives  o Organization, leadership, artistry (b/c campaigns deal with images). Dependent on technology  a.  The High Tech Media Campaign  i.  First half of 1900s = campaign trains, voters journeyed to see candidates on tour  ii. Today television reaches voters. Mass-media campaign. Reach voters in living room  iii. Computer revolution has overtaken political campaigns. Post issues on Internet, money donations through Web site = internet fund-raising 1.  Direct mail – locating potential supporters by sending information and a request for money to huge lists of people who have supported candidates of similar views in the past. Computerized list of names and addresses. Induces millions of people each year to contribute over $1 bill to various candidates/political causes.

1952: One of the first TV commercials for a Presidential Campaign
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iv. Candidates must use the media and computer technology to stay competitive  v.  Most important goal of media campaign is to get attention.  vi. Coverage is determined by 2 factors:  1.   How candidates use their advertising budget.  2.  The “free” attention they get as news makers.  vii. The biggest item in a campaign budget is television advertising, making up at least half the total budget for a presidential or US Senate campaign.

 As seen from the above image, the McCain and Obama campaigns spent the most on TV ads in the swing states with greater populations, for example Virginia, Florida, Colorado, and Ohio. Both campaigns generally put out television ads in the same locations, except the Obama campaign was able to spend significantly more. Out of the eleven swing states (and therefore the states with the greatest television ad spending) Obama won the electoral votes of eight; all except Indiana, Montana, and North Carolina.

 viii. People learn more about issues from watching ads than watching nightly news. Candidates believe policy positions crucial to campaign so pay large sums to communicate them to voters.

A campaign commercial from the 1960 election:
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ix. Candidates have less control over news coverage as media appeals to interest the viewers; media determines what is happening in a campaign <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> x.  News coverage is disproportionately devoted to campaign strategies, speculations, poll results, and the campaign game rather than policy issues. <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 1.  Roger Ailes “orchestra pit” theory – guy who falls off stage into the orchestra pit gets more attention on media news than the guy who says he has a solution to problems in the Middle East. <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 2.  Media pays more attention to the horse race and strategies than to campaign issues, policies, past record, and endorsements. Public interest.

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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> b. Organizing the Campaign
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> i.  Candidates must effectively: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 1.  Get a campaign manager: keeps candidate from getting bogged down, responsible for keeping campaign square on its message and setting its tone.



<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 2.  Get a fund-raiser: money is key to election victory

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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 3.  Get a campaign counsel: legal assistance to comply with federal regulations of campaign <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 4.  Hire media and campaign consultants: Plan ad campaigns, contract for buttons and bumper stickers, buy TV time and newspaper space. <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 5.  Assemble a campaign staff: professionals and volunteers to address small tasks. Volunteers are usually young people, but in recent years high school seniors expressed less and less interest in participation. Long hours, tedious work, low pay

[] <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 6.   Plan the logistics: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Candidates will be traveling around the country to promote themselves and must have people who can schedule their plans and make sure events are publicized and well-attended. <span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; msolist: Ignore;"> 7.   Get a research staff and policy advisers: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Candidates do not have time to master complex issues, therefore they need policy advisers to help them keep with events. <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 8.   Hire a pollster: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Professional polling firms conducting opinion research can tell candidates how the voters view them and what is important to the voters. <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 9.   Get a good press secretary: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Candidates must have a good press secretary to help them make sure stories that the campaign would like to see reported are published. <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> 10.   Establish a website: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Candidate should create a website because it is an inexpensive way to get a candidate's message out.

=The Evolution of Campaign Commercials=

Since 1952, Presidential candidates have been using television commercials to promote their campaigns. These commericals have greatly evolved over the last 50 years and now include not only television commericals but internet commercials as well.

1964: The Famous Daisy media type="custom" key="5113559"

1968 (Independent): The first TV commercial for an Independent media type="custom" key="5113565"

2008: McCain Web Commercial media type="custom" key="5113573"

2008: Obama Web Commercial media type="custom" key="5113577"

The Role of the Internet in the 2008 Campaign “Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee.” -Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of __The Huffington Post__

Obama started a website, Change.gov, to connect with his supporters after he was elected President.

Obama’s campaign took advantage of Youtube for its free advertising.

“The campaign’s official stuff they created for YouTube was watched for 14.5 million hours. To buy 14.5 million hours on broadcast TV is $47 million.” Joe Trippi, political consultant __ Internet campaigning allows candidates to… __ -organize supporters without volunteers and paid organizers -advertise to voters -defend against attacks -communicate with constituents The constant exposure of the Internet demands authenticity from the candidates for the benefit of the voters. (They can’t get away with anything!) __ Advantages of YouTube advertising: __ -free - more effective than television ads because viewers chose to watch them or received them from a friend instead of having their television shows interrupted.

=A Political Cartoon Representation of the Campaign Game:=

finger pointing...

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false promises...

"We can still win this!"

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general smack talking... []

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [|**In Pictures: Celebrity Endorsement Power**] **an article by** David A. Andelman from []

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The six who would have the most positive impact on the image of a candidate with whom they associated were Oprah, on top, followed by Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Jon Stewart of //The Daily Show//, Angelina Jolie and Tiger Woods. On the negative side, our poll shows politicians should be avoiding the likes of Rosie O'Donnell, Tom Cruise, Madonna, Jane Fonda, Donald Trump and Susan Sarandon. Endorsements by celebrities have a substantially different impact depending on the age of the prospective voter. The younger the vote, the more "positive the perception of a candidate endorsed by a celebrity they admire," according to the pollsters at E-Poll Market Research. So Oprah scores 26% positive among 18- to 24-year-olds, but drops to just 11% for those 45 and older. Still, among those 65 and older, Oprah scores better than any other celebrity, with the same 11% saying they would pay positive attention to any politician she might endorse.

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On the negative side, Rosie O'Donnell's endorsement would be most counterproductive among older voters, with 46% of those over 65 saying she would have a negative effect on their perception of any candidate, while 27% of those aged 18 to 34 say she would negatively impact their views. Donald Trump is a negative influence on perceptions pretty much across the age spectrum--21% to 32% of voters saying his endorsement would be counterproductive. Oprah would also have the greatest positive impact on Barack Obama, followed by Hilary Clinton. Indeed, she did endorse Obama back in May. However, Obama would also be helped by Tom Hanks, George Clooney (who did endorse him as long ago as last December), Jon Stewart and Tiger Woods. Clinton is helped to a lesser extent by George Clooney (whose endorsement of Obama probably rules him out at least until after primary season) and Angelina Jolie. At the same time, the age of the celebrity matters as well, particularly to younger voters who are also more likely to single out younger celebrities as having the most favorable impact--including Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, though neither was among the top six favorites of the overall population polled.

Additional Commercials:

1968: 1976: media type="custom" key="5113561" media type="custom" key="5113567"

1980: 1988: media type="custom" key="5113569" media type="custom" key="5113571"

Works Cited

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">"The Living Room Candidate." //The Living Room Candidate//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2010. [].