A look at the U.S. elections

A look at the U.S. elections

In November 16 and 17, New York University (NYU) Florence's La Pietra Dialogues held its fifth annual political conference, U.S. Politics: Elections Experts Analyze the Results, discussing the recent U.S. presidential election. As strategists and advisors from both the Republican and Democratic parties analyzed what happened during

bookmark
Wed 21 Nov 2012 11:00 PM

In November 16 and 17, New York University (NYU)
Florence’s La Pietra Dialogues held its fifth annual political conference, U.S.
Politics: Elections Experts Analyze the Results, discussing the recent U.S.
presidential election. As strategists and advisors from both the Republican and
Democratic parties analyzed what happened during the campaign, taking stock of
what worked and what didn’t during an election that saw an unprecedented use of
funds and social media, the distinguished panel of speakers provided invaluable
insight into the workings of the American political system.

 

Much attention was
given throughout the conference to Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign
strategies, as speakers examined where the Romney campaign came up short.
According to Robert Shrum, NYU professor and senior advisor and strategist to
the presidential campaigns of Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, one important
factor was that Mr. Romney’s team ‘misunderstood the composition of the
electorate.’ The Romney campaign failed, Shrum said, to account for the
increase in minority voters and leaning too heavily on a white voter base,
which is quickly shrinking.

 

Other strategists generally agreed that President
Obama had the advantage in his campaign’s use of social media, a tool of
growing importance in modern elections. As Alex Castellanos, a Republican
strategist, former Romney advisor and co-founder of bi-partisan public affairs
firm Purple Strategies, explained, the ‘Obama campaign’s technical and social
media ground game was a leap forward,’ as it made use of different media and
technology in ways no campaign had before in order to unite their voting base.

 

Another topic of discussion was the dramatic increase
in campaign spending and the use of ‘Super PACs,’ following the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision to strike down limits on political spending. Both sides spent
vast sums on advertising campaigns, but it remains to be seen exactly how
effective that spending was. Effectiveness aside, Steve McMahon, a Democratic
media consultant and co-founder of Purple Strategies, posited that spending is
‘a trend that will not only continue but accelerate unless Congress does
something to stop it.’

 

The use of polling was another significant factor in
this election, as the dramatic variance in poll results led to both parties
feeling certain they would clinch the election. The rise of pollsters and
analysts like the New York Times’ Nate Silver has led to greater appreciation
of the role of polling in understanding and predicting election results. Joel
Benenson, Obama’s pollster and strategic advisor in both his Presidential
campaigns, explained that ‘there’s an art and science to polling … you have to
ask the questions that allow you to get beneath the surface.’

 

After all the analysis, however, perhaps the most
pressing question for both parties is how to move forward over the next four
years. With the changing demographics of the American electorate, both parties
will have to reconsider their approach as voting blocs they could previously
rely on become fragmented. This question is especially important to the
Republican party, which will now look towards the 2014 congressional elections
and, of course, the 2016 presidential race.

 

Also at the conference were Democratic strategists
Bill Carrick and Michael Donilon, counselor to Vice President Joseph Biden;
among the Republican strategists were Kevin Madden, senior advisor and spokesperson
for the Romney 2012 campaign, and Steve Schmidt, senior advisor to John
McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. Beppe Severgnini of Corriere
della Sera and Paolo Valentino, senior foreign
policy columnist also at Corriere della Sera, were among the European
observers present.

 

At the end of the conference, it was apparent that
this election marked dramatic changes in American politics, in both the
composition of the electorate and the way campaigns are run. Going forward, the
lessons of this campaign will prove vital to the future success of both
parties.

More information about the conference and the
panelists can be found at www.lapietradialogues.org

 

Related articles

LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE