The Making of a President
By Lisa Frederiksen
I was astounded to hear Senator Obama telling Anderson Cooper on CNN “360” on September 1 that his campaign for President has some 2,500 employees and a budget of about $36 million dollars “for the month”! When I thought about it further, it’s not so surprising, but I was curious – 2,500 jobs – what are they?
Given this is an historic election – one our children and their children will be talking about in the decades to come – we decided to focus this article on the kinds of jobs and careers that go collectively into making a political campaign a success – whether it be a campaign for a candidate or an issue - locally, statewide or nationally. And, as you can imagine, we found scores of jobs, including:
campaign headquarters coordinator
consultant
advertising specialist
community volunteer coordinator
Why, there are businesses within businesses, depending on the size of the campaign. Of course, most of these jobs and careers are not specific to a particular candidate or issue campaign; rather they are jobs that carry from one campaign to the next. Campaigns support industries such as the communications and travel industry. Money is poured into a campaign and trickles down to printers, radio and television stations, newspapers, hotels and restaurants. Reporters and advertising salespeople can be very busy during campaign season. Communities that host conventions or other events for politicians receive a boost in their economy from the people who travel there.
What is unique about these jobs?
Working on political campaigns can be stressful and fast-paced. Here are examples of how some of these jobs are specialized for a campaign:
Speechwriters are the people who help the candidate write an effective speech. Generally, the speechwriter sits down with the candidate and they’ll brainstorm the candidate’s goals and objectives for the speech. The candidate may even write a rough draft of the speech, with the speechwriter fine-tuning it. The key to success for a speechwriter is to be able to capture the personality, tone, word choice and pace of the person they are writing for and then convey a message that resonates with the target audience.
And, speaking of writers… If your students are interested and enjoy writing, there are all kinds of jobs, including technical writers, copy writers, writers with an expertise in economics, law or medicine, reporters, editors, freelance writers, publication assistants, bloggers (yes, it can be a full-time, but rarely lucrative career) news analysts and correspondents.
Presidential candidate, John McCain, has his own personal bus driver, who drives his Straight Talk Express (the name Senator McCain has given his bus). Imagine how well you’d get to know a candidate and so many of the other people involved in a political campaign as the candidate’s bus driver! And, once the campaign is over, you could drive a bus for a rock band or another candidate, or you could be a school bus driver or public bus driver, or a cross-country bus driver – what a way to see the country! Here’s an interesting job qualification in order to be an interstate bus drivers, “must be able to hear a forced whisper in one ear at not less than 5 feet, with or without a hearing aide.”
How to Get a Job on a Campaign
Many people start off as volunteers for an issue or a candidate they believe strongly in. The work can include knocking on doors to hand out literature, making phone calls, or simple office work filing and answering phones.
Those with special skills, such as graphic design, may be able to step into a paid position, but beginning salaries probably won’t pay you much.
If you are a student in college, get signed up as an intern. You may still be making the phone calls alongside the volunteers, but you also might be invited to participate in other activities. Once you get a college degree, there are more internships available to you, as well as entry-level jobs.
Suggestions for Classroom Activities
Have your students brainstorm a presidential political campaign – what kinds of jobs go into making one happen? You may even watch a clip of a convention or have them watch the news or read a newspaper article and try to take apart what the candidate is doing and who (people doing their jobs) may be helping them. Don’t forget the volunteers (precinct walkers, campaign phone solicitors, get-out-the-vote booth volunteers, folding fliers and brochures).
For a full civics lesson, have multiple classrooms or grades work a campaign. Select who will represent a candidate, such as John McCain and someone else Barack Obama. Then have the class divided into the newspaper reporters, bloggers and campaign workers. Have your “candidates” select their running mates. Hold a debate. This is time consuming, but a wonderful learning experience that they will always remember.
NOTE FROM CAREER KIDS: One of us had this experience of dividing multiple classrooms into the different campaign jobs during junior high and it definitely was a great influence and positive experience.
Lisa Frederiksen is the author of four biographies on famous women leaders in the women’s and civil rights movements and is a national speaker on women’s and civil rights issues. Visit her website for details: http://www.breakingthecycles.com/ or email her at info@breakingthecycles.com.