The Road to the White House : Strategies and Outcomes in the 1960 and 2000 Presidential Campaigns

1
The Road to the White House Strategies and
Outcomes in the 1960 and 2000 Presidential
Campaigns

• Joseph Hollis
• For Prof. Jeremy Lewis
• Capstone 499 A final Tribute to the Lewis
  School of Government

2
Road to the White House Intro

• Basic Strategies of the Presidential Campaign
• 1960, 2000 campaign overviews
• -candidates, organizations
• -candidate strategies
• -outcomes
• Comparisons and Conclusions

3
Broad Strategies of the Presidential Campaign

• Create a Leadership Image
• Building a Winning Geographic Coalition
• The Incumbency Factor
• Basic Common Appeal
• Reaching Voters
• Targeting Messages
• Timing Appeals
• Turning out the Voters

4
Candidates in 1960 Campaign John F. Kennedy v.
Richard Nixon

• Kennedy Background
• Nixon Background
• Vice-Presidents
• Strategically beneficial or not?

5
1960 Kennedy Strategies (Theodore White, Making
of the President)

• Focus on 9 large states (New York, Pennsylvania,
  California, Michigan, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, New
  Jersey, Massachusetts)
• Accentuating Kennedys Image
• Building a Leadership Image
• Discredit the Eisenhower Admin/ make appeal to
  the public
• Brain Trust for ideas (Harvard Professors
• Would use data in Rhetoric and Speeches wanted
  to be informed on National Policy
• Civil Rights Strategy
• Overall Campaign Strategy Full Speed, all the
  time almost recklessly

6
1960 Nixon Strategies (Theodore White, Making of
the President)

• -Accentuate his National Image
• Leh Hall - Jim Shapley Strategy
• -Peace and Prosperity Campaign
• Farm and Catholic vote
• Folksy Appeal
• Plans Board
• Pledge to Campaign 50 States
• Three Week Blitz
• The Eisenhower Factor

7
1960 The Strategic Role of Media in a
Presidential Campaign

• First time for everything
• Candidate preparation internal and external
  factors
• Appearance is Key
• Outcome of the Presidential Debates
• 57 percent of those who voted believed that TV
  debates influenced their decisions.6 percent,
  or over 4,000,000 voters, said their final
  decision was on the debates alone..
• Of the 4,000,000, 72 for Kennedy, and 26 for
  Nixon
• (GALLUP POLLING, 1960)

8
Electoral College 1960

• John F. Kennedy 303 (34,221,349)
• Richard M. Nixon 219 (34,108, 647)
• Harry F. Byrd - 15

9
Candidates in the 2000 Campaign George W. Bush,
Al Gore

• Gore Background
• Bush Background
• Running Mates??
• Homogeneous, or not?

10
Gore Campaign Organization 2000

• No Centralized Structure
• Too many staffers with too much input
• Campaign team internal problems
• Bush 17 in approval rating at one point in time
• Debates

11
Gore 2000 Strategies

• Campaign Intensely
• Initial Attack Strategy (would backfire)
• Peace and Prosperity trip
• Use the debates for advantage
• Own man (Leadership appeal, basic)
• Issue stances (refer to handouts)
• Reproductive Choice
• What to do with Clinton?

12
Bush 2000 Campaign Organization
13
Gore 2000 Strategies Continued

• Gore kisses wife
• Implications of it all

14
Bush 2000 Strategies

• Neglect the issues that divided Republicans,
  pitted stark ideological differences to Dems
• Outsider of Washington Rhetoric of Uniting
• Compassionate Conservatism
• Moral Presidential Leadership
• Geographically California emphasis

15
2000 Electoral Outcomes (2)

• George W. Bush 50,456,169 271
• Albert Gore, Jr. 50,996,116 266

16
2000 Electoral Outcomes (1)

• Bush had safe states
• Gore safe states?
• Florida Recount
• Supreme Court decides President of the United
  States, split along ideological (partisan lines)

17
2000 Role of Media in the Modern Presidential
Campaign

• Media has an intense impact on the Presidential
  Campaign
• Much of the campaign is dedicated to
  Media-related activities, and over half is spent
  on the budget
• Candidate will orchestrate campaign for the news
  media
• Hopefuls do everything to prevent embarrassment
  on television

18
2000 Role of Media in the Modern Presidential
Campaign Continued (2)

• MEDIA ADVERTISING
• Consultants, and professional supplement the
  campaign staff (design, produce advertisements as
  well as buy time on different stations)
• GORE Washington Based Public Relations Firm
• BUSH Stuart Stevens, New York Filmmaker, Mark
  McKinnon, Texas Media Consultant
• TARGETING!

19
2000 Role of Media in the Modern Presidential
Campaign Continued (3) Televised Debate

• Expectations beforehand
• Outcomes of Debates
• Poll Data

20
Conclusion

• Recap of Points
• The End