A paradigm shift in campaign emphasis. Heretofore we have been exposed to only one style and thrust of the machinations of a political campaign, to elect a candidate. The drill usually proceeds along these lines;
1. A person of required age and residence gets a wild idea to run for office. His motives can run the gamut from having a heavenly calling, an insatiable desire for fame and power, a dare, a threat, ambition, flattery, following orders from a higher authority or a myriad of bizarre reasons. (And in most cases stupidity should never be ruled out.) Regardless of the reasons “his hat is thrown into the ring”, the events that follow are more or less set in concrete.
2. With the candidate properly qualified he now sits firmly in the air atop a nebulous pyramid with optimistic anticipation of garnering enough financial help to radiate his “stand on the issues” throughout the potential electorate so they will fill-in the base of his support.
3 With all the forces and counter forces now embroiled in the mix the campaign now becomes one of saying as little as possible on any subject so as not to alienate potential voters while smiling and waving at every photo-op so the hard core (supporters who have been promised someone else’s wealth) will continue to “get out the vote!” This balancing act demands lying and is generally written off the conscience as political pragmatism or expediency.
4. The election takes place and if the “fix” is not already in for a particular candidate, then the contest becomes a battle of the ballots and the powers that count the votes. Some elections are obviously stolen.
(Part 7)
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