Getting The Facts About Presidential Nominees

The next presidential campaign is coming very quickly and there will be both parties looking to make their case to the American people about just why it is that they deserve to be running the country. As always the decision will not be easy, but for many the reason for the difficulty will have to do more with lack of information, rather than anythings. It’s a shame that the world is only big enough for two serious political parties, but it’s a bigger shame when the information about these two parties is not plentiful to the people.

So how do people make sure they are getting the information they need? It’s not an easy question and one that will certainly keep good minds busy. The problem is that the presidential nominee often like to play a game of illusion with their records and their stance. Getting to the presidency is about what you don’t say. It’s not about what you do say. There is nothing revealed and most candidates won’t take a hard stance on much and for that reason the American people are left to judge based on how much they like a person based on interviews.

If someone is looking into getting information about the candidates they can go on to a site like factcheck.org where there will be unbaised information about the track record of these candidates. It’s important for these people to see. What people should be looking for is a voting history. There is no better way for a person to see what another candidate believes in than by checking their voting record. It’s important to try and get the voting records from different levels of political office as well. There might have been votes on the lower level of government that will impact a person’s decision to vote for someone or not. Getting the facts could mean making a better decision on an important matter like the presidential election.

The Political Process: The Local Level

Belarusian politician Vladimir Novosiad
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Have you ever had the aspirations to work in a political office? Have you ever thought that you could do a better job than the guy in charge? If so you might be thinking that it’s a good time to throw your hat into the ring and get yourself involved in the next election. It’s a noble thing to want to better your community by running for public office but there are a few things you should know about running for office, even if it’s on the small scale. A political office, no matter the size, comes with challenges and unless you are ready to face the challenges not only of the office itself, but of the election process, then you might be in for a disappointing run.

The first thing that you need to know is that an election is really really hard work. It’s not just about speeches and a few posters. As a matter of fact, politics at the local level is all about getting your face out there. It’s about visibility. There are few debates and speeches for local counsel or to become a judge. It’s about going door to door and meeting the people. They won’t know you from a name so making sure that they get to know your name will matter far more than you could ever imagine.

In order to get your name out there you will need help. You see most local elections are won by the motivation and the dedication of family and friends. Getting the word out to your family members to enlist their help will end up helping you a great deal. So make sure you are fully aware of exactly what it takes to make it in this line of process. Otherwise it could be a rude awakening.

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Finding A Campaign Manager

This image of Ron Paul (and Campaign Manager L...
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When you take on the political process from the vantage point of the candidate. If you are going offer local office then you are probably charged with good ideas and a good reason why you are running but there comes a problem with your status as a low level candidate: you are seriously not sure how to run the campaign. This doesn’t mean you don’t understand what you have to do to win but rather how you go about executing your plan. This isn’t all the uncommon.

The biggest problem with running a local campaign is that it is usually staffed by a group of loyal family and friends. Far be it from anyone to tell your family and friends that they are unqualified but the truth is they may not know what they are doing. For that you will have to prepare to take action and be your own campaign manager and this means managing your staff and delegating responsibility.

The first thing to do is seek out the most knowledgeable, responsible, and smartest people in your team and seek them out for a leadership position. With that you will be able to lay out a strong game plan and you will be able to finally figure out how to put that plan into action.

Make sure your campaign manager is someone that you trust. You want to make sure they will be able to devote all the time that it takes to win the election. Make sure they share your vision for a successful campaign and make sure they are willing to do be there to dole out responsibilities. If they are not willing to be a part of everything it takes then don’t worry about them, thank them, and look elsewhere for a manager. You need someone who is on your side.

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Roles of the Campaign Manager

2008 United States Presidential candidate John...
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The duties of a financial manager on a political campaign is a big deal. Many people believe that there job is simply to keep track of what is being spent and what is coming in. While this is certainly part of the equation it is only a sliver of what it is they have to do. There is more to running the money in a campaign than simple bookkeeping. Here are just some of the responsibilities that they have:

Rainy Day

The worst thing in the world that can happen to a campaign is to run out of money. This is never a good idea. In a high profile campaign there will always be a need to have money just in case. Let’s say it’s the presidential campaign and candidate A is just rolling along up in the polls and that’s good news to him because he is without money. Then just as the election is nearing, his candidate, Candidate B, comes out with an ad that effectively questions his political record. A quick look at the polls and it’s seen that the numbers are dipping and it’s up to your campaign to issue a response. You have the right angle on a commercial and you know just the time to release but since you didn’t have a good manager you are without the funds to produce it. Borrowing money can be possible but it is a problem to borrow and your opponent would love nothing more than to report that you are broke.

Not having money is a big deal. In an election you will need all the money you can, especially down the home stretch of the election. If you come up short on funds it could end up costing you the election and your job in the process.

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Politics as Drama

The future of American elections
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When is too much information a bad thing? When the information clutters or distracts the decision making process. A good example would be being receiving an abundance of contradictory directions on how to complete a project. The American election cycle has become something similar, as the media pours information down the throats of its viewers while using the election as a way to drive interest in the news.

This process is neither good nor bad. It simply is. The political season as a horse race is the produce of living in a capitalist representative democracy. The media seeks to widen its audience by reporting on something that people are interested in. A major political campaign is a wide reaching event that carries the same type of drama as a sporting event. There is a winner and a loser. There is a tale of the tape. And there are regular scoring updates.

The scoring updates come in the form of polls. Americans favor one candidate to another due to variety of reasons including: stage presence, back story and political affiliation. Data has been collected to show that a large percentage of Americans will be persuaded to vote for a candidate enough though the vote is against their personal views and economic interest.

Part of the reason for this confusion comes down to the media coverage. The candidates are treated as if they are prize race horses. Does the candidate “look presidential”? Does he or she have executive experience? How would he or she handle the mud?

The act of observing and reporting on the race has become the race itself. It is a social Heisenberg effect, which dictates that the act of observing alters the result of the experiment. While the media implies that knowing everything about a candidate is necessary for a healthy democracy, this message is greatly self-serving.

There is no ideal way to solve the media circus surrounding politics, and in an environment where less might be more a low information diet of facts over dramatic stories could be serve voters on election day.

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