September 2009 Archive

What is a guy to say when his own President suggests that children take responsibility for their own lives and future? I mean, REALLY! - take responsibility? Where are we living now - in America? Pluh-leeze!

You can read the entire speech here (thanks Jesse!). A few excerpts:

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

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Its over three years since I had been a campaign manager for a Congressional Campaign, and I was cleaning up my blog and discovered a couple of half completed notes on being a campaign manager that I planned on publishing for others to benefit from my experiences. In the intervening years, I got extremely busy and never had the time to edit and update.

Today, I thought - why the heck not? The information is still relevant and the ideas may help some new campaign manager learn some lessons from this crib sheet instead of from the fire of a candidate (or campaign). As I go through my notes, I will write some of my thoughts out - and capture them in posts.

Lesson #1: It’s all about the money.

One of the lessons I learned in running a Congressional campaign is that a political campaign is like making sausages - you never want to know how it is done, but you can appreciate when it is done right.

In building a campaign from the ground up - or improving an existing program - you face a lot of operational issues:

• getting low-cost, high-quality facilities,
• getting the best staff for the least amount of money,
• growing connections both within the district and the District,
• creating compelling marketing materials that hit the high points, but keep the powder dry,
• and so on.

And, aside from the operational ones - the interpersonal issues of political candidates and their families, the issues of staffers and volunteers - all of these are part and parcel of running the campaign.

But when it comes down to brass tacks, with all of these issues looming, what truly matters in the eyes of everyone is the money.

Money determines viability, strength and success in the future. Early money determines your perceived viability of the campaign. Effective money management determines the nature of your campaign management. Growth of money determines your future viability in various situations - including television, radio, print/direct mail, online and other outreach mechanisms.

Since money is the constraint on your campaign - consider the following suggestions when trying to create an effective political campaign:
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