Friday, August 24, 2007

The next US presidential campaign - maybe

Hilary Clinton seems to remain the favourite to be the Democrat candidate despite all of the hype surrounding Barack Obama. One reason is her strategist Mark Penn who is seen as the ultimate professional campaign strategist. So why is that, these are the attributes that The Economist argues earmarks him for the top.
  • He is a master of demographic trends and poll data;
  • He thinks elections are won by wooing swing voters rather than revving up the base;
  • He is happiest with the politics of “triangulation”, so going for the centre ground;
  • He has vested, business interests behind him to drive him to victory;
  • He hates populism.

This suggests greater segmentation and targeting, a further shrinking of the party difference and a new set of insider dealings and patronage to be ushered in. Is this really what the voters of America want?

No comments: