Politics

I often think about how the world could be a better place if politicians did certain things and abstained from other things. Here are a some of my ideas. I believe they may be helpful to those politicians/leaders who are people of integrity, and wish to make a contribution as public servants. Contrary to popular belief, these people do exist.

Campaigning
This is essentially an art that cannot be mastered by everyone. Also, it can be more difficult if you are unwilling to lie or be pimped by interest groups. But these obstacles can be overcome if you are intelligent, highly motivated, strong, and charismatic.

Campaigns are driven by money. If you don't have it, you can't run. Plain and simple. Local races tend to cost less, so for this (and other) reasons, I would advise starting at the local level if you are a novice. In order to raise money, you must be willing to ask for it. You must not be ashamed to knock on doors, make phone calls, and send emails all for the sake of your campaign. If you are a person of integrity, and actually have a sound platform, you can ask for money with confidence. Many people will say "no", but many will actually contribute if they agree with your platform.

Personally, I'm a fan of asking for relatively small amounts from a vast number of people. But depending on the demographics of your social circle(s) and the community where you seek to be elected, you may be able to go straight for the "ballers" or key players (not to the exclusion of others with less money). When you ask for money, you should be willing to say exactly what that money will be used for, and once you have the money, it must be used for that purpose.

When donors give you money, you must thank them. If you thank them in writing, sign by your own hand. If this is impossible because of volume, I suggest signing a percentage with your own hand. This is particularly important when dealing with older voters who remember a world before email.

If you have fundraisers (and you should have fundraisers), make sure you speak to every single person in attendance. Thank everyone for making it a success. Even if it's not really a success, thank everyone for making it a success. This means any elected officials who came to endorse you, any donors, your family, your friends, the wait staff. If you are fortunate enough to have many, many people come to your fundraiser, it will be a challenge to make personal time for all of them. But you should do your very best to meet all of them. You should appoint someone to be in charge of your time. You need this if you are not good at ending conversations gracefully. This person should say "I'm sorry to be rude but I have to get [candidate X] over to thank some more guests." You should in turn look perturbed, but acquiesce to your manager's demand. Graciously apologize to the person with whom you were speaking, and move on. If you say "I'll talk to you some more later," you must not forget.

Media
If the media become interested in your campaign, this can be both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing if they like you; if they dislike you, you're in for a hell of a ride. I think it's best to start with the assumption that the media are curious about you, but undecided as to your qualifications. You must give them reasons to like you. This can be accomplished by being courteous in person, returning phone calls, and saying "thank you for speaking with me" when the interview is over.

If you are dealing with unscrupulous members of the media (and trust me, you will deal with them sooner or later), you must never become visibly angry or be rude. Especially if they have a news camera or any sort of recording device. Never, never, never believe a journalist who says "this is off the record." It's not. Seriously. Whatever you say will turn up in a newspaper or magazine, and people will read it and believe it. If you become visibly angry at a reporter with a news camera for stalking you, or lying to your staff to get close to you, or simply for asking stupid ass questions, guess what portion of the exchange will end up on the evening news. Exactly ... it'll be you, looking like a ranting, raving lunatic. Editing machines, baby. Remain calm, cool, collected, and charismatic at all times. This is hard. You may have to practice behind closed doors.

If you need to practice, have your staff do roleplaying exercises with you. They should pretend to be hostile journalists, or competing candidates. They must ask you all the toughest questions you could possibly encounter. And you must come up with answers. Practice this until you are comfortable. If you cannot get comfortable answering tough questions, then you probably shouldn't be involved in politics.

Speaking of tough questions, there is a special category that deals with scandal. Tough questions on policy are one thing, but if you have a potential scandal attached to your name, you need to take special precautions. If you don't know what I mean by "scandal", ask yourself what's the worst thing you've ever done. Ask yourself what's the worst thing that one of your friends or relatives has ever done. You must assume that this will be made an issue in your campaign. And you must have a response. If you were young and irresponsible when the indiscretion took place, make that clear to voters. And make it clear that you learned from the experience, have matured, and have moved on.

Make it clear that your character is intact today, and that you currently have something of value to offer your community. Make it clear that you are the very best candidate for the job right now. If you're not the best candidate, get out of the race; you don't deserve the job. Voters don't care so much about what you did twenty years ago, as long as they believe you're currently the best person for the job. Don't let the media or other candidates smear your name without a fight.

If you're indiscretion took place recently, make sure those closest to you know about it as soon as possible. Don't let your spouse find out by watching the evening news. Don't let your kids hear at school. Tell them face to face, and if they want you to quit running for election ... you might just want to do that. Put the needs of the people who love you first. If you can't decide between losing an election and losing your family because of some scandal that's probably your own fault, you don't need to be an elected official. We already have enough hollow men at the local, state, and federal levels.

Anyhow, if after being told about the indiscretion, those closest to you give you the green light, tell the media that you're sorry for any shame or disappointment that you've caused your loved ones, and thank them for supporting you and continuing to believe in your character. Then go on to say that you never could have overcome those past challenges without their help, and their support makes it possible for you to be the very best candidate for the job. Make it clear that you and your family have moved on. But keep in mind that "moving on" may be extremely difficult if your indiscretion was of a criminal nature, and the statute of limitations hasn't passed.

I have a bunch of other ideas, but this post is becoming far too long. I'll end by saying candidates should remember that they are seeking to be public servants. It's a highly demanding job worthy of respect; not everyone can do it, but it needs to be done. Most people who take the time to vote understand this, and will at least give you a chance. Now get out there and earn some votes.