You call this book an “archeology of the present.” What did you dig up? Managers, speechwriters, pollsters and get-out-the-vote specialists have more power than we’d like to admit—and a substantial impact on election outcomes. This is the political equivalent of “the medium is the message”: communication is the candidate.
How is that Sawyer Miller’s fault? Sawyer Miller pioneered the field of political consulting … They brought the new marketing techniques of Madison Avenue to work in politics. They framed the message; they made over the candidate’s image; they peddled spin; they generally encouraged their people to go negative; they polled relentlessly; they emphasized personal character over policy. And it worked: they won and their techniques have become the standard playbook for any politician seeking high office.
Has democracy been cheapened as a result? The people at Sawyer Miller started out as idealists. They believed that clever messaging and the savvy use of TV would break politics out of the smoke-filled backrooms and engage people … Instead, politicians appeared more slick, more prone to sound bites and, courtesy of the relentless stage management, more phony.
