When it comes to restoring enthusiasm in American history, David Bruce Smith’s Grateful American™ Foundation likes to shine a spotlight on the people and organizations that are the best teachers of the topic.
So it’s a great pleasure to interview Richard Semiatin, the Academic Director of American Politics at American University — a man who has spent decades studying politicians and elections.
Indeed, he is the author of “Campaigns in the 21st Century” (McGraw-Hill, 2004), and editor of “Campaigns on the Cutting Edge” (CQ Press, 2008), the book’s second edition (2012) — and just weeks ago he released the third edition, available here.
In the book, Semiatin explains that the evolution of the modern political campaign has taken us from television sets in the living room to wireless new media in the hands of voters.
“Reaching voters with targeted messages, candidates increasingly rely on consumer-driven techniques,” he writes. “What works at the national level can be tailored to work even more effectively at the individual level. Future campaigns will continue to make use of recent innovations like meetups, blogs, and Internet polling.
“Newer tactics such as fundraising on the web and get out the vote drives with microtargeting via Blackberrys and PDAs are changing the way candidates advertise, ask for money, interact with the media, coordinate with their party organizations, and make the most of interest group support.”
What, then, are the implications for the democratic process and governance? And does Semiatin think Hilary will be our next president?
