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Presidential Politics: The Race Is On, the Stakes Are High
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14168 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1988 |
4,555 Words |
| Author
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Stephen J. Wayne
Stephen J. Wayne is professor of government at Georgetown
University in Washington, D.C. He is the author several books
on the American presidency, including The Road to the White
House and Presidential Leadership, both published by St.
Martin's Press.
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There have been significant changes in the way we choose our presidential nominees. In the past, entering primaries was optional for leading candidates and required only for those who did not enjoy party support or national recognition. Today it is essential for everyone, even an incumbent president. No longer can a front-runner safely sit on the sidelines and wait for the call. The winds of a draft may be hard to resist, but more often than not, it is the candidate who is manning the bellows.
In the past, candidates carefully chose the primaries they would enter and concentrated their efforts where they thought they would run best. Today they have much less discretion. Before 1972 it was considered wise to wait for an opportune moment in the spring of the presidential election year before announcing one's candidacy. It was considered wise to restrict primary efforts, obtain the backing of the state party leaders, work through their organizations, and mouth party positions--to be an insider, not an outsider. The successful candidates were those who could unify the party. They took few chances. The object of their campaign was to maintain a winning image and build support as a team player within the mainstream of the party. Much of this has changed.
There are now new answers to the old questions of when to declare, where to run, how to organize, what to communicate to whom, and how to prepare for and win the general election. What has caused these changes? How have they affected the strategy and tactics for seeking the nomination? What implications do they have for governing?
A New Ball Game
Three factors have contributed to the new environment for presidential nominations: reforms in party rules, restrictions in finance laws, and the revolution in mass communications, particularly television.
The changes in party rules were initiated by the Democrats, largely in response to the protests over their 1968 convention, a convention in which Hubert Humphrey won the nomination without having entered a single primary. Cries for reform, voiced by those who were largely excluded, resulted in the establishment of a commission, first chaired by Sen. George Mc Govern and later by Donald Fraser. The commission recommended a series of changes to broaden the base of public participation and make the delegates more representative of the party's rank and
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