Handlers are the Beltway buzzword for political consultants. These hired spinmeisters are employed to not only win elections for candidates but also to keep the victorious candidates’ popular while in office. They have become essential to modern politics. Handlers could also be called Ministers of Marketing.
Elections are not new to democracy, but the types of campaigns we currently witness are. The modern campaign demands much more than a few whistle stops and posters. Handlers coordinate advance work, scheduling, speech writing, media, polling, finance and spin. Running a campaign is now a career choice. Some have wondered if governing has become just another name for campaigning. With handlers ever present, the blur between policy and politics is ever apparent. Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s campaign consultant, is the archetype of the modern handler. Nicholas Leman wrote: “Rove is both a fox and a hedgehog. He is the detail man of all detail men, but he also makes a point of doing more long term strategic planning than other political consultants.” He has shaped George W. from the beginning. It has been said that Rove is “the most powerful political figure America has never heard of.”
Barack Obama’s handler is David Axelrod.
Electability once anchored on character, with modern day marketers handling candidates, winning now depends more on likeability. With a voyeuristic media and a savvier electorate, candidates need to be cautious of their image at all times. They need proper handlers.
Paul Taylor, of the Washington Post, has recently written:
“We are reporters in an age when personality and image dominate politics the way party and ideology once did. This shift has had everything to do with the ubiquity and intrusiveness of modern communications technology. It is beside the point to argue whether the change has been for the better. One can not uninvent television ... Nor can one wish away the simple truth that as our culture has become more media-soaked, the way we conduct political campaigns and measure political leaders has become more personality-soaked.”
And whom can we thank? Start with the handlers.
If you were a handler, explain how the words below are important when planning the modern campaign.
the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even-numbered years
Primary v. Caucus
Horserace Journalism
Cattleshow
GOTV
Nat’l Conventions
PACs
Approval Ratings
Incumbency
Bush v.Gore (2000)
