The Never-Ending Campaign

While the rest of America takes a post-election breather, Washington won't.

We've just finished a two-year non-stop campaign for the White House, but it's just a warm-up for a non-stop four-year blitz, as President-elect Barack Obama builds on his success.

Obama can be expected to keep intact his highly successful grassroots network and money machine. Since he raised $700 million in two years as a challenger, how much might he raise in four years as an incumbent?

Like ants at a picnic, political activists are scurrying for their piece of the goodies Obama has promised. Bigger government means more government jobs, more government contracts, more lobbying and more chances to snag a share of the extra money flowing in and out of Washington.

All will be willing to pay financial homage to Obama, adding a new layer to his already giant fundraising network.

Expect a permanent campaign machine during the Obama presidency, hosting constant rock-star-scale events, continuing the blitzes via text-messaging and Internet social networks, and a never-ending paid presence on television. Each of these will continue to channel people to a Web site where they can dump a few dollars into the ever-open campaign coffers.

It's a major expansion of Bill Clinton's successful 1996 re-election strategy, which began its TV campaign advertising in the summer of 1995. Until this year, it was the earliest start ever for presidential campaign advertising. It also was controversial because it mixed campaign funds with Democrat National Committee funds.

As noted in a 1998 investigative report by the U.S. Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs:

The 1994 election results were a major setback for Democrats. ...The Democrats' loss of Congress, along with the president's concern that he might face a primary challenge, fueled an urgent need for political money. ...The president and his top advisers took control of the DNC and designed a plan. ...The DNC ran television advertisements, created under the direct supervision of the president, which were specifically designed to promote the president's re-election. To fund this early advertising for the president's benefit, the DNC had to raise more than three times what it raised during the 1991-92 election cycle -- and nearly three times what was raised during the 1993-94 cycle.

In the spring of 1995, [Clinton consultant Dick] Morris explained to the president that he needed to advertise early to improve his approval ratings and give him a chance to win re-election. The first "flight" of advertising released in July 1995 was paid for by the Clinton/Gore '96 re-election committee. The results of the July media "showed very significant movement" for the president, which Morris used to convince the president to undertake the unprecedented advertising campaign Morris had proposed.

Unlike Clinton, Obama has proven that he won't need to open up the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House to attract donors to pay for such aggressive advertising. Nor does he have to compete with Republican ascendancy as Clinton did.

What got the Clinton campaign into hot water was its decision to use the public financing system in 1996. That generated a need to raise money through Democratic Party coffers rather than campaign accounts, meaning the party was the purchaser for "issue ads," to comply with laws against improper coordination with the campaign.

While the rest of America takes a post-election breather, Washington won't.

We've just finished a two-year non-stop campaign for the White House, but it's just a warm-up for a non-stop four-year blitz, as President-elect Barack Obama builds on his success.

Obama can be expected to keep intact his highly successful grassroots network and money machine. Since he raised $700 million in two years as a challenger, how much might he raise in four years as an incumbent?

Like ants at a picnic, political activists are scurrying for their piece of the goodies Obama has promised. Bigger government means more government jobs, more government contracts, more lobbying and more chances to snag a share of the extra money flowing in and out of Washington.

All will be willing to pay financial homage to Obama, adding a new layer to his already giant fundraising network.

Expect a permanent campaign machine during the Obama presidency, hosting constant rock-star-scale events, continuing the blitzes via text-messaging and Internet social networks, and a never-ending paid presence on television. Each of these will continue to channel people to a Web site where they can dump a few dollars into the ever-open campaign coffers.

It's a major expansion of Bill Clinton's successful 1996 re-election strategy, which began its TV campaign advertising in the summer of 1995. Until this year, it was the earliest start ever for presidential campaign advertising. It also was controversial because it mixed campaign funds with Democrat National Committee funds.

As noted in a 1998 investigative report by the U.S. Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs:

The 1994 election results were a major setback for Democrats. ...The Democrats' loss of Congress, along with the president's concern that he might face a primary challenge, fueled an urgent need for political money. ...The president and his top advisers took control of the DNC and designed a plan. ...The DNC ran television advertisements, created under the direct supervision of the president, which were specifically designed to promote the president's re-election. To fund this early advertising for the president's benefit, the DNC had to raise more than three times what it raised during the 1991-92 election cycle -- and nearly three times what was raised during the 1993-94 cycle.

In the spring of 1995, [Clinton consultant Dick] Morris explained to the president that he needed to advertise early to improve his approval ratings and give him a chance to win re-election. ... The first "flight" of advertising released in July 1995 was paid for by the Clinton/Gore '96 re-election committee. ... The results of the July media "showed very significant movement" for the president, which Morris used to convince the president to undertake the unprecedented advertising campaign Morris had proposed.

Unlike Clinton, Obama has proven that he won't need to open up the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House to attract donors to pay for such aggressive advertising. Nor does he have to compete with Republican ascendancy as Clinton did.

What got the Clinton campaign into hot water was its decision to use the public financing system in 1996. That generated a need to raise money through Democratic Party coffers rather than campaign accounts, meaning the party was the purchaser for "issue ads," to comply with laws against improper coordination with the campaign.

Obama can avoid those pitfalls, because he opted out of public financing this year and surely will do so again in 2012.

A huge reason Obama won was that his enormous cash advantage overwhelmed Sen. John McCain on the airwaves, often by more than 4-to-1. It also financed a huge number of well-trained campaign staff and community organizers, again massively outnumbering McCain's workers during the four-month general election.

Imagine having such advantages for four years rather than four months. So how overwhelming might a permanent campaign be? This is uncharted territory for America. But it could establish a cult of personality, giving Obama a way to go over and around the media, and to deliver messages long on oratory and generalities, even if they are usually short on policy details. Voters have proved that it works.

Obama shows the potential to establish a true national political machine, which other politicians (from the Congress to local governments) will want to utilize for their own advancement. The political price, of course, is to be a FOB -- Friend of Barack. His ability to help others raise both their profile and their campaign cash will be a major tool that persuades others to support the agenda of the new president.

Obama's charisma may not rub off on others, but his fundraising prowess will. Barack Obama has indeed transformed the American political environment. And he's far from finished.

First appeared at www.worldnetdaily.com