A campaign manager, who is developing a program for a candidate running for president, should consider such factors as the interests of the party that the candidate represents, fundraising, media, public opinion, political participation, etc. Overall, the presidential campaign can be divided into two phases, the primaries, and the general elections. For instance, we may take such prominent politicians as Alfred Gore, representing the Democratic Party.
First, it is worth mentioning that this man has already proved himself very efficient in Washington, and his knowledge and experience may be invaluable to everyone sitting in the Oval Office. The first question that the candidate should resolve is fundraising because the financial aspect often becomes the crucial one. The presidential campaign relies on donations; therefore, one should determine who would be such donators. In the majority of cases, large corporations or companies may contribute to raising capital; if the candidate proves that, he or she may successfully promote their interests in the capacity of president. Yet, it should be borne in mind that the president represents the interests of all the nation, and it should be his main priority. Thus, the person running for president should first persuade representatives of the middle class to render him financial assistance. Moreover, such will yield him more votes in the long term.
In this regard, it should be pointed out that fundraising at the initial stage (primaries) differs from the second one (general elections). First, the candidate represents a certain political party (in this case, Democrats). Appealing to the community, he should first set stress on the party policy and principles and how it may contribute to the general welfare of Americans. The voters and investors must believe that their donations to the Democratic Party will be recompensed at least in the long term.
Later, the candidate should shift focus on his own persona, his abilities, and his political agenda. In particular, Gore may refer to his experience of being the Vice-President of the United States. The campaign manager should also conduct a thorough analysis of the statistical data; particularly, he or she must identify the states, that over the last fifteen and twenty-year voted the Democratic Party. It is necessary to ascertain the root causes of the partys low results in this regions. In this case, the primary importance should be attached to opinion polls.
Furthermore, the manager should develop strategies for conducting public debates with the opponents. He or she should first identify major strengths and weaknesses of the candidates political agenda, and that one of his opponents. For this purpose, the so-called SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis will be the most beneficial because it enables to identify internal and external factors, which may either contribute to or prevent the candidate from winning the election.
Apart from that, such aspects as media cannot be overlooked. As a rule, managers try to develop slogans that would immediately attract the attention of the viewer or the listener. Such slogans usually place emphasis on the best qualities of the candidate or his agenda. Additionally, the manager should also ensure that the in his public speeches, the candidate reflects the main idea of his political party and his agenda.
To conclude, presidential campaign involves a great number of aspects, and it is not permissible to underestimate any of them, because financial support without a clear vision or policy will be fruitless, and vice versa.