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Power of persuasion in presidential race Power of persuasion in presidential race
(about 2 hours later)
Americans head back to the polls next march, with the Pennsylvania primary and the next stage in the Democratic nomination process. BBC Washington correspondent Kevin Connolly reflects on the campaign so far. Americans head back to the polls next month, with the Pennsylvania primary and the next stage in the Democratic nomination process. BBC Washington correspondent Kevin Connolly reflects on the campaign so far.
Snow did not stop the campaigningIf you have been struggling to buy doughnuts in Des Moines just recently, or a snow shovel in Cincinnati, then I may have good news for you.Snow did not stop the campaigningIf you have been struggling to buy doughnuts in Des Moines just recently, or a snow shovel in Cincinnati, then I may have good news for you.
The storm system of political energy which is America's primary system has safely passed for another four years leaving the air trembling with energy in its wake.The storm system of political energy which is America's primary system has safely passed for another four years leaving the air trembling with energy in its wake.
The winning strategy is to dream big, and to think small. In a country whose constitution guarantees voters the right to pursue happiness, you must offer what one strategist called "the vision thing".The winning strategy is to dream big, and to think small. In a country whose constitution guarantees voters the right to pursue happiness, you must offer what one strategist called "the vision thing".
But while you are sketching your visions in the air, you must have an army of volunteers attending to the nuts and bolts on the ground. One campaign in Iowa spent $3,000 (£1,500) on snow shovels for example, partly to clear the driveways of their own supporters on election night, partly so there would be no shovels left for anyone else.But while you are sketching your visions in the air, you must have an army of volunteers attending to the nuts and bolts on the ground. One campaign in Iowa spent $3,000 (£1,500) on snow shovels for example, partly to clear the driveways of their own supporters on election night, partly so there would be no shovels left for anyone else.
Pennsylvania has been a key battleground in recent electionsIt is in such details that we sense the real atmosphere of the whole thing.Pennsylvania has been a key battleground in recent electionsIt is in such details that we sense the real atmosphere of the whole thing.
How on earth, for example, did the staff of the generally austere and businesslike Hillary Clinton come to spend around $6,000 (£3,000) on doughnuts? That is enough to buy a shelf-clearing 41,620 under the terms of the best deal I could find in the shops.How on earth, for example, did the staff of the generally austere and businesslike Hillary Clinton come to spend around $6,000 (£3,000) on doughnuts? That is enough to buy a shelf-clearing 41,620 under the terms of the best deal I could find in the shops.
Still, at least the Clinton campaign is large and well staffed.Still, at least the Clinton campaign is large and well staffed.
The doomed presidential run of Senator Chris Dodds managed to spend about half that amount on doughnuts too, but he fell at the first hurdle, securing less than 1% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses. It is a miracle he was able to waddle up to the microphone to make his concession speech.The doomed presidential run of Senator Chris Dodds managed to spend about half that amount on doughnuts too, but he fell at the first hurdle, securing less than 1% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses. It is a miracle he was able to waddle up to the microphone to make his concession speech.
Spending milestoneSpending milestone
The spend on doughnuts though still lags some way behind the amount invested in advertising. 10 December 2007 is reckoned to mark a peculiar milestone in American political history - the first day on which presidential candidates between them spent more than a million dollars on TV spots.The spend on doughnuts though still lags some way behind the amount invested in advertising. 10 December 2007 is reckoned to mark a peculiar milestone in American political history - the first day on which presidential candidates between them spent more than a million dollars on TV spots.
An ability to persuade your fellow voters to open their wallets is closely linked to a flair for opening their hearts and minds I have myself - with an eye to the internet auctions of the future - contributed to this whirligig of getting and spending, investing in a Rudy Giuliani fridge magnet, which turned out to have even less sticking power than the man himself, and a pair of Mitt Romney braces - which offer rather more support than he turned out to command among the voters.An ability to persuade your fellow voters to open their wallets is closely linked to a flair for opening their hearts and minds I have myself - with an eye to the internet auctions of the future - contributed to this whirligig of getting and spending, investing in a Rudy Giuliani fridge magnet, which turned out to have even less sticking power than the man himself, and a pair of Mitt Romney braces - which offer rather more support than he turned out to command among the voters.
Fund-raising is, after all, the skill at the heart of the American presidential process and I am not sure I see anything wrong with that.Fund-raising is, after all, the skill at the heart of the American presidential process and I am not sure I see anything wrong with that.
Persuasion is the essence of democracy and an ability to persuade your fellow voters to open their wallets is closely linked to a flair for opening their hearts and minds.Persuasion is the essence of democracy and an ability to persuade your fellow voters to open their wallets is closely linked to a flair for opening their hearts and minds.
When you consider that the United States has a $14 trillion (£7 trillion) economy and is about to spend $2bn (£1bn) on Easter chocolate, the bill for choosing the world's most powerful leader seems to me reasonable enough.When you consider that the United States has a $14 trillion (£7 trillion) economy and is about to spend $2bn (£1bn) on Easter chocolate, the bill for choosing the world's most powerful leader seems to me reasonable enough.
Cooked squirrelCooked squirrel
And it would be wrong, by the way, to assume that the prize goes to the candidate with the deepest pockets anyway.And it would be wrong, by the way, to assume that the prize goes to the candidate with the deepest pockets anyway.
Mitt Romney (L) finished behind Mick Huckabee (R)This year's richest candidate by far was Mitt Romney, the craggy former governor of Massachusetts who looked like someone sent from a casting agency to play president, more than he ever looked like someone who might actually be president. Mitt Romney (L) finished behind Mike Huckabee (R)This year's richest candidate by far was Mitt Romney, the craggy former governor of Massachusetts who looked like someone sent from a casting agency to play president, more than he ever looked like someone who might actually be president.
His bottomless personal fortune allowed him to buy all the TV advertising he wanted in the two styles favoured by American politicians: positive - vote for me because I'm a good guy - and negative - you are not seriously thinking of voting for that unpatriotic idiot?His bottomless personal fortune allowed him to buy all the TV advertising he wanted in the two styles favoured by American politicians: positive - vote for me because I'm a good guy - and negative - you are not seriously thinking of voting for that unpatriotic idiot?
And he still finished far behind his eccentric rival Mike Huckabee who had no money at all, but whose description - in an unpaid TV interview - of how he used to cook squirrel fillets in a popcorn popper will live in the memory long after time has reduced Mr Romney to the status of a very difficult question in Trivial Pursuit.And he still finished far behind his eccentric rival Mike Huckabee who had no money at all, but whose description - in an unpaid TV interview - of how he used to cook squirrel fillets in a popcorn popper will live in the memory long after time has reduced Mr Romney to the status of a very difficult question in Trivial Pursuit.
Whoever finally wins the White House will have emerged from an extraordinarily long and demanding trial Now, it is true the American primary process is wearyingly over-extended. A serious candidate for high office here will spend far more time contemplating and pursuing power than he or she will ever spend exercising it, but as an outsider, I have been impressed with the energy and the directness of American politics.Whoever finally wins the White House will have emerged from an extraordinarily long and demanding trial Now, it is true the American primary process is wearyingly over-extended. A serious candidate for high office here will spend far more time contemplating and pursuing power than he or she will ever spend exercising it, but as an outsider, I have been impressed with the energy and the directness of American politics.
Meeting votersMeeting voters
By November, the winning candidate will have spent half a billion dollars, mainly on TV time, but in the early stages, they all worked the chicken dinner circuit, shaking hands, rattling collecting tins and dreaming dreams.By November, the winning candidate will have spent half a billion dollars, mainly on TV time, but in the early stages, they all worked the chicken dinner circuit, shaking hands, rattling collecting tins and dreaming dreams.
The primaries allow candidates to get close to their votersI have seen Barack Obama addressing a crowded gymnasium in a high-school so small there was barely room for his rhetoric to soar, and I have listened to Mike Huckabee talking about abortion in a small-town dance hall where the stage had previously been graced by local bands with names like Daddy Hipster-O and the Hand Grenades.The primaries allow candidates to get close to their votersI have seen Barack Obama addressing a crowded gymnasium in a high-school so small there was barely room for his rhetoric to soar, and I have listened to Mike Huckabee talking about abortion in a small-town dance hall where the stage had previously been graced by local bands with names like Daddy Hipster-O and the Hand Grenades.
Whoever finally wins the White House will have emerged from an extraordinarily long and demanding trial, the successful species in a kind of speeded-up evolutionary process.Whoever finally wins the White House will have emerged from an extraordinarily long and demanding trial, the successful species in a kind of speeded-up evolutionary process.
Power and the security which necessarily surrounds it makes our leaders remote in the modern world, but in primary season America feels it comes to know its candidates and the candidates get to meet the people they aspire to lead.Power and the security which necessarily surrounds it makes our leaders remote in the modern world, but in primary season America feels it comes to know its candidates and the candidates get to meet the people they aspire to lead.
The remoteness of the White House is already beckoning, but to reach it you still have to shovel a lot of snow, and eat a lot of doughnuts and somewhere in that paradox lies the power and the fascination of the system.The remoteness of the White House is already beckoning, but to reach it you still have to shovel a lot of snow, and eat a lot of doughnuts and somewhere in that paradox lies the power and the fascination of the system.
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 21 March, 2008 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 21 March, 2008 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.