Campaign Tip
Stay Out of “The Tunnel”
As Election 2007 winds down, here’s some campaign wisdom from former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt about the importance of maintaining perspective in the heat of the battle.
In 1976, Mike Leavitt was running Dixie Leavitt’s campaign for governor. The primary election was just a few days away and the young campaign manager had been working incredibly hard, focusing every bit of energy and attention on the campaign. It was all he could think about; he was constantly focused on strategy and the myriad details of a statewide campaign.
So on a Saturday afternoon he was driving past Liberty Park. He looked out the window and almost to his surprise he saw people playing Frisbee, jogging, walking dogs and eating at picnic tables.
He recalls becoming almost angry: “Don’t these people know there’s a crucial election just a few days away? Don’t they know how important this is? How can they be out there playing when there’s so much at stake and so much to do?”
Then, says Leavitt, he realized he was making a very bad mistake. He was in the “campaign tunnel.” He had lost perspective, lost his feel for what ordinary people were thinking and doing.
Descending into “the tunnel” is dangerous because you forget that the vast majority of people aren’t paying attention to politics; they aren’t following every campaign story in the newspapers, or watching political coverage on TV news. They aren’t interested. An effective campaign manager or candidate understands this and takes it into account in a number of ways.
Candidates and campaign workers who get into “the tunnel” and remain there are more likely to make bad decisions. They might, for example, be the subject of a bad or good news story and think that everyone in the world has seen it and it’s having a big impact when, in reality, it accounts for a tiny blip. They might overreact in a number of ways. They might not make extra efforts to reach average citizens because they think they’re already paying attention.
That’s why it’s important to be grounded in reality throughout the campaign, to interact with people outside the campaign and keep the campaign in the right perspective. The campaign might be the absolutely most important thing in the world to you. You might be eating, drinking, breathing and living politics. But if you start to think everyone else is like you, you’ll run a very bad campaign. It’s a particularly important lesson to keep in mind right at the end of a campaign.
Washington Watch
Hatch Regrets MLK Vote
In a new book by Charles Grodin, "If I Only Knew Then ... Learning From Our Mistakes," Sen. Orrin Hatch says he regrets voting against the establishment of Martin Luther King Day (Canadian Press).
Voucher Debate
A significant voucher debate is scheduled today, 10 a.m., at the SLC Public Library Auditorium on 400 South 200 East. School choice advocates Richard Eyre and Rep. Greg Hughes will debate Rep. Sheryl Allen and former UEA President Pat Rusk.
At 9:30 a.m., prior to the debate, Sheila McKinley, a mother whose daughter was in the Milwaukee voucher program, and Ceola Miller, a Utah mother, will take questions regarding their children’s respective school experiences.
James A. Garfield and the Mormons
A friend of Mormons since his boyhood near Kirtland, Ohio, Garfield betrays the Saints when he lashes out against the Mormons in his inaugural address. When he is shot four months later, East Coast ministers spread the rumor that the assassination was a “Mormon plot.” To show there are no hard feelings, Utah names Garfield County in his honor. (From Mike Winder’s Presidents and Prophets: The Story of America’s Presidents and the LDS Church)
Today in Political History
October 30, 1975: New York City very nearly goes broke. Unable to meet its bond obligations, the city almost defaults on $2 billion of commitments. The New York Daily News runs the headline: “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” one day after Pres. Gerald Ford says he would veto any proposed federal bailout. (National Journal.com political calendar)
October 30, 1990: "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" becomes law, mandating that all children receive a free, appropriate public education regardless of the level or severity of their disability. (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“All of us denounce war—all of us consider it man’s greatest stupidity. And yet wars happen and they involve the most passionate lovers of peace because there are still barbarians in the world who set the price for peace at death or enslavement and the price is too high.”
— Ronald Reagan (Patriot Post)
National Politics
Best Stories From …
-- TIME: "The latest still photo from the slow motion, inter-party electoral horse race known as Iowa is in -- and it looks like John Edwards is losing steam on the Democratic side while Mike Huckabee is charging at the GOP frontrunners."
-- Washington Times: "A bitter fight is taking place behind the scenes over Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. Influential conservatives are clashing over whether Mr. Huckabee is capable of keeping evangelicals from fleeing the GOP to form a third party or if he's too liberal fiscally for the Republican electorate."
-- The Politico: "Rudy Giuliani, whose presidential campaign strategy originally downplayed New Hampshire, is now making a major bid to win the Granite State primary."
-- New York Times: "In a reversal from past election cycles, Democratic candidates for president are outpacing Republicans in donations from the health care industry, even as the leading Democrats in the field offer proposals that have caused deep anxiety in some of its sectors."
Blog Watch
-- Ethan Millard says: "[Monday] the Tribune publishe[d] their 5 millionth pretend article on why vouchers have not turned Governor Huntsman into a screaming maniac. The articles on this have been cute and simple… but they ask us to ignore everything we know about the Governor. So the only question remains: How many more times before Nov. 6 will Glen Warchol rewrite this article and how many more times will Paul Rolly steal it? (For more on the voucher issue, see The Third Avenue, KVNU's For The People, Simple Utah Mormon Politics, and Gary Weiss.)
-- At CW Blog, Holly Mullen pays tribute to former D-News editor Lou Bates, who passed away last week.
Lighter Side
Economic Terms
Stock: A magical piece of paper that is worth $33.75 until you buy it. Then it’s worth $8.50.
Bond: What you had with your spouse until you pawned his golf clubs to invest in Priceline.com.
Broker: The person you trust to help you make major financial decisions. Note that the first five letters of his title spell Broke.
Commission: The only reliable way to make money in the market, which is why your broker charges you one.
Bear: What your trading account and wallet will be when you take a flyer on that hot stock tip your golfing buddy gave you.
Bull: What your broker uses to explain why your mutual funds tanked during the last quarter. (The Economist’s Joke Book by Jeff Thredgold) |
