Mousepads, Shoe Leather, and Hope

 

In the book Mousepads, Shoe Leather and Hope, Michael Silberman’s account of his experience with the Howard Dean campaign and with campaign manager Joe Trippi gives a true insider’s look at something new in campaigning.  I would argue that no campaign feels as though it completely upholds the status quo of campaigns past.  Resources change, mediums change and people change.  With these changes come new forms of reaching voters. 

 

Silberman stated that, during his time on the Dean campaign, the shift from broadcast politics to the old-fashioned, person-to-person, word-of-mouth politics was being felt.  I would argue that, in its earlier days, the internet didn’t perpetuate much person-to-person dialogue, but there was definitely a shift away from broadcasters having the sole dominant position on the mass distribution of a campaign’s information and messaging. 

 

It’s true that this was a new type of campaign.  However, new forms of media and communications are the constant change that has been seen over time, and campaigns must be ready for, adapt to and take advantage of the change.  In 1948, the advent of the television began to transform politics.  In 1972, journalism took a turn, and reporters had an impact on the campaign as never before.  Candidates in the 2000 presidential election had to consider the internet as a serious player in campaigning.  As Silberman notes, 2004 brought about advancements that were made-up as campaign staffers went-on.  And 2008 has seen fundraising via the internet that is unprecedented.  From Barack Obama to Ron Paul, the internet has transformed campaigns, shaped our major players and left others in the dust. 

 

In its earlier days, the net had the tendency to remove the human element from communications.  Personal responses to email, phone calls and digital videos make all the difference in this case.  These small gestures are so important in building trust among people who have never met each other and  keeping them motivated. It’s also often easy to forget that volunteers are real people with real lives and families.  They volunteer their time because they believe in something, and it makes all the difference if the leaders recognize that, as Silberman and his team did.  Further, broadcast coverage of the internet only validated its role to volunteers. 

 

Not to be forgotten in all of the new media was the grunt work of a grass-roots operation.  Someone to put together Meetup kits, send them out, answer phones, respond to emails, maintain databases, update Web content…  So much of the effort was not high-level work, yet it still had to be done. 

 

Silberman also notes that, while the new media was underway, a traditional campaign was simultaneously being run.  Numbers still had to be analyzed and strategy needed to be planned.  The internet, as he notes, was simply the enabler for something new in campaigning.  Who knows what the next four years will bring.