From ads to advance, presidential campaigns have a lot of components
Text 
No comments [ Add Comment ]By Doug Gibson
Commentary
F
ew people understand why some presidential candidates succeed, and others flop, after spending scores of millions of dollars.
Last week at Weber State University, Richard Richards, who has headed both the state and national Republican Party organizations, spoke to a large crowd at the university's Alumni Center on how presidential campaigns are run. Richards, now retired from high-stakes politics, was known for his ability to set up strong campaign organizations at the local level with volunteers making sure the vote gets out for a candidate. Richards oversaw that and other activities across major regions of the nation.
It is likely that the 2008 campaign will set records in money spent, both by the candidates and outside advocacy groups, also known as 527s.
"We are witnessing the most negative, most uncivil presidential campaign ... in a lifetime," he said, adding reform is badly needed.
A typical massive presidential campaign, explained Richards, is headed by the candidate, some close advisers, and several managers who run particular areas, including research, public relations, scheduling and the ground campaign.
Any of these areas can sink a candidate. One crucial part of a campaign can be opposition research. Richards explained how past Democratic vice presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton was forced off the ticket after GOP opposition research uncovered he had been treated for depression.
Also, opposition research led then-Democratic frontrunner Gary Hart to withdraw in 1987 after being seen with a woman who was not his wife. The joke was that Hart had earlier, in a show of hubris, dared the media to try and catch him in an affair.
So they did.
Advertising is a critical part of a campaign. And the stakes are high. Firms, said Richards, get a 15 percent cut on an advertising deal. So if a campaign spends $150 million on ads, $22.5 million goes to the firm.
Richards talked about the Willie Horton ad, used in 1988 by George H.W. Bush against Michael Dukakis. Horton was a convict furloughed under a prison program during Dukakis' tenure as governor in Massachusetts; Horton assaulted a couple. The idea to attack Dukakis using Willie Horton came from Bush political adviser Lee Atwater.
Richards described the late Atwater as a "genius of political campaigns." Atwater, he said, managed to make Willie Horton an issue in the campaign without having his fingerprints on the ad. Bush, who had trailed Dukakis by double-digits in the late summer of 1988, cruised to an easy election win that year.
Richards described Mike Deaver, who worked for President Reagan, as the best scheduler in politics. Deaver understood how to portray his candidate. "He knew how to position the president," said Richards.
Richards recalled how Deaver always had a medium blue background for President Reagan at public events. One day, said Richards, there was no medium to be found. Frantic, Deaver and his group, at the last minute, bought a blue tent from a passerby for $50 and put it behind Reagan.
Debate preparation is critical. Richards recalled President Gerald Ford's gaffe in a 1976 debate with Jimmy Carter. Ford insisted -- more than once -- that Poland was not under Soviet domination. That gaffe had a huge impact, as did Richard Nixon's "5 o'clock shadow" in the 1960 TV debates with John F. Kennedy.
Many major political figures, including Gov. Huntsman, start out in politics as "advance men." They get things ready for an appearance by a candidate. Failure in anything -- such as a microphone not working -- usually leads to an advance man getting fired, Richards said.
Advance men have a saying, "NTL," which means, "Never Trust Locals," said Richards. As a result, advance men can be regarded as pushy or arrogant.
Richards recalled an advance man in Salt Lake City who insisted Richards make out thousands of formal invitations for a visit by President Nixon to the LDS Tabernacle.
Richards, who knew the invites were not needed, dumped the cards in the trash. Later, after the Tabernacle, Assembly Hall and Temple Square outside were packed to hear the president, the Nixon advance man strutted up to Richards and opined how smart he was to have listened to the advance man!
A footnote: Weber State University will soon start an institute to focus on politics and ethics. Richards will be one of the leaders of that effort. Plans are to have politicians, including GOP Rep. Rob Bishop and Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson, speak to students about efforts to improve the political system and their ideas about the importance of political service.
Gibson is the Standard-Examiner's assistant editorial page editor. He can be reached at dgibson@standard.net.
