Campaigns & Elections articles from June 2008

Campaigns & Elections archives from June 2008

The high price of low blows.(From the Editor ...)(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... If the public is so sick of negative campaigning, so ready to punish the mudslingers, then why are those tactics used again and again, election after election? Because they usually work. At least in the short run, a candidate can gain some...

Twenty years of stars.(From the Publisher ...)
June 1, 2008... Families have a way of making brutal observations seem so loving. My cousin, a high-profile magazine editor, recently described me as experienced in the "black arts" of campaigning. That was before I became publisher, of course. But it takes...

A Maverick strategy for McCain.(Briefing Room)(John McCain)
June 1, 2008... In 2000, then-Gov. George W. Bush marauded through West Virginia--a state that had historically voted for only three Republican presidential candidates--by defining A1 Gore as a radical, gun-stealing environmentalist determined to crush the...

Waxing pathetic?(Briefing Room)(Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C. entrance fee rates)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The market for pasty politicos just got more bearish. Just ask Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C., which quickly learned that even President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton can't hold a candle (sorry) to the Hollywood celebs...

Viral madness!(Briefing Room)(presidential Internet video campaigns)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Presidential campaigns are spending more time than ever creating unique online videos, but research indicates they're doing little more than preaching to the choir. Nielsen Online found that few of the 518,000 who viewed videos on...

Whose money ... and where's it going?(Briefing Room)
June 1, 2008... Soon after George W. Bush's re-election in 2004, wealthy Democratic donors from across the country, dispirited and frustrated, scrambled to understand why their efforts to retake the White House had failed--and just how they could utilize their...

When the McCain campaign went into freefall, Mark McKinnon faced an impossible challenge. Again.(Movers&Shakers)(John McCain)
June 1, 2008... Politics: Senator John McCain came back after he looked too broke to compete for the nomination. Are we learning something new about the power of money in campaigns? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] McKinnon: Yeah, I think we're learning there's...

It takes a masochist to live my life.(If I Had It To Do Over ...)(Personal account)
June 1, 2008... For some strange reason almost every political consultant remembers their very first campaign in more vivid detail than any campaign they've worked on since or will ever work on again. I'm no exception. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My...

Spare us your authenticity.(Eve Fairbanks)
June 1, 2008... Remember Karl Rove, that reclusive genius of the Bush administration reputed to wield the power of Iago, Rasputin and Cardinal Richelieu rolled into one? Well, he's come out of hiding to set up shop as a Newsweek scribe and a Fox News...

Is barack in a bind?; Why negative attacks work ... unless you're senator Obama.(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... In a campaign that lasted forever, it was probably bound to wind up as it did one rainy weekend in late April. Sen. Barack Obama was visibly tired. He was, his advisers said, frustrated by the increasingly petty nature of the race. Questions...

These innovators are taking microtargeting in startling new directions.(MicroWizards)
June 1, 2008... Alex Gage is a fidgety man. In the first five minutes visiting his office, you're likely to see him slide back in his chair, run his hands through his thinning red hair, flip randomly through his 2004 Florida research, and then lean forward to...

Rising Stars; These are the young upstarts in your office that everybody loves to have. They have more energy; they have beter ideas; and they're too young for their own good. yep, their drive just ratchets up the presure on everybody else. But in your heart, you know they're going places. So do we. Behold, politics magazine's rising stars for 2008.
June 1, 2008... David All 29, Republican Before going to work on the Hill at age 24, David All never really considered himself a "tech guy." He had already served as a speechwriter for a U.S. senator and managed a Republican congressional campaign, but...

Florida.(Reds&Blues)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... DEMOCRATS SMELL BLOOD in the water down in Florida. Over the past two years, the party has managed to reverse its political misfortunes by nabbing nine new state House seats and picking up two congressional seats. And, for the first time, the...

Michigan.(Reds&Blues)(recall of Andy Dillon in the state government)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... A VERY NASTY recall election may be brewing for state House Speaker Andy Dillon, a moderate Democrat. The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance wants to recall Dillon for supporting tax increases during the state's 2007 budget crisis, and is trying to...

Missouri.(Reds&Blues)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... MISSOURI REPUBLICANS WERE launched into disarray earlier this year when Gov. Matt Blunt (son of House Minority Whip Roy Blunt) shocked them with the announcement he would not seek a second term. The unpopular governor has suffered voter...

Nevada.(Reds&Blues)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... AFTER A TUMULTUOUS year and a half in office, Nevada's Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons may have finally exhausted the patience of even some of his staunchest supporters. Gibbons, who is still enduring an ongoing FBI corruption probe, recently filed...

Trials ahead for your candidate.(Ask The Campaign Doc)
June 1, 2008... Q: Maybe you can help. I work for a judge, a great guy, former trial lawyer, who's up for reelection in two years. What can we expect and is there anything we should be doing now to get ready for the campaign? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Rest the politics of revenge.(The High Road)
June 1, 2008... Q: Is it ethical to stay in a race you cannot win to damage your opponent? A: 'Cannot' is a parlous word. Mistakes and unforseen events can make the 'evident' winner an also-ran. It's difficult on prudential grounds to insist a candidate...

Political Bookshelf.(The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry That Defined a Generation)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... Dual biographies are a tricky subgenre of nonfiction to pull off. Striking the right balance between offering straight biographical information and shedding light on the dynamics of the subjects' relationship requires both prodigious research...

Alpha dogs: the Americans who turned political spin into a global business.(Quick Picks)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... Alpha Dogs is about the formation, high points and ultimate demise of Sawyer Miller, a public relations consulting firm that was one of the first professional political consulting firms in the 1970s and 1980s. Sawyer Miller helped create the...

Women for President: media bias in eight campaigns.(Quick Picks)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama announced their presidential candidacies the same month. According to Erika Falk, Obama received far more news coverage, although he trailed Clinton in the polls. Falk looks at eight women who ran for...

The persuadable voter: wedge issues in presidential campaigns.(Quick Picks)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2008... Are swing voters really swayed by wedge issues? In this political game-theory exercise, Hillygus and Shields argue that "cross-pressured partisans" are a more complicated voting bloc than previously thought. With a look at microtargeting data...

Lessons from the '08 primaries.(Dick Morris)
June 1, 2008... Throw away the rule book--the 2008 nominating process has completely changed the way we choose our candidates. What will the fallout be? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The most significant change is that the proportional representation system...

Politics at the speed of light.(John Zogby)
June 1, 2008... Just another Friday afternoon, but this time our company's vice president for marketing came in and was incensed by something he saw on Drudge. An American contract ship in international waters discovered some foreign boats heading...

A match for iPhone?(TechBytes)(Samsung Instinct)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... If the makers of smart phones really wanted to beat out the iPhone, they'd spend more time coming up with catchy names. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Samsung Instinct has a tag reminiscent of a straight-to-DVD slasher flick. The phone...

I said yes? I meant no ...; This new website gives voters more power over the polls.(TechBytes)(Bullitics)(Website overview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The polled sometimes have second thoughts after the pollster hangs up. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Those last-minute changes of heart--and their impact on elections--are the inspiration for Bullitics.com,a polling website that aims to...

There's an art to networking; And in politics, you better get it right.(Playbook)
June 1, 2008... In politics, most opportunities result from a single, identifiable human being. Here are some practical and proven principles you can use to expand your contacts and create relationships that can help you throughout your political career. ...

Brice Civiello.(Who's where in the political world ...)(American Strategies)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Brice Civiello has been promoted to vice president of political operations at American Strategies in Columbus, Ohio. Civiello began working there as an intern in May 2005 and became a campaign director in September 2005. While there, he has...

Fred Davis.(Who's where in the political world ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Two advertising executives, Fred Davis, of Strategic Perception in Los Angeles, and Chris Mottola, a Philadelphia-based consultant, have joined Sen. John McCain's campaign. Davis had left the campaign last year when funds were in short supply...

John Bruhns.(Who's where in the political world ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... John Bruhns has been hired as the legislative coordinator for the United for Peace & Justice Coalition. The peace group is a coalition of 1,400 member groups. Bruhns served in Iraq as an Army infantry sergeant before becoming a peace activist....

Khristine Brookes.(Who's where in the political world ...)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... After eight years at the Heritage Foundation, Khristine Brookes has moved on to the CATO Institute to become vice president of communications. Having served for five years as director of communications at Heritage, Brookes cites a lack of...

Tim Albrecht.(Who's where in the political world ...)(American Future Fund)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Tim Albrecht has joined the American Future Fund, where he will manage the organization's communications and net roots campaign as national director of communications. He most recently served as Iowa press secretary for Gov. Mitt Romney's...

Sign-Ups ...(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... These candidates and groups have signed on with the following consulting firms. All candidates are running in the 2008 cycle unless otherwise noted. Adelstein Liston D-Media American Federation of State, County and Municipal...

Buyers guide.(Directory)
June 1, 2008... Production ADVANTAGE CONSULTANTS ADDRESS: Winter Park, FL PHONE: 407-388-1776 FAX: 407-629-7760 CONTACT: Douglas Guetzloe EMAIL:Guetzloe@aol.com YEARS IN BUSINESS: 26 PARTY AFFILIATION: Mostly Republican ...

Quips & slips.(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... "I'm a good sport.... We're going to send Jessica Simpson to the Democrat National Convention." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --President George W.Bush, implying he wants to pass on the Dallas Cowboys' curse to Democrats WHEN DID YOU...