The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Everything You Will Ever Need to Know About ‘Political Communication Strategy’

Posted on | July 7, 2011 | 7 Comments

“Total candor with the press — or anyone else, for that matter — is not one of the traits most presidential candidates find entirely desirable in their key staff people. Skilled professional liars are as much in demand in politics as they are in the advertising business . . . and the main function of any candidate’s press secretary is to make sure the press gets nothing but upbeat news. There is no point, after all, in calling a press conference to announce that nobody on the staff will be paid this month because three or four of your largest financial backers just called to say they are pulling out and abandoning all hope of victory.
“When something like this happens to you, quickly lock all the doors and send your press secretary out to start whispering, off the record, that your opponent’s California campaign coordinator just called to ask for a job.
“This kind of devious bullshit is standard procedure in most campaigns. Everybody is presumed to understand it — even the reporters who can’t keep a straight face when they’re jotting it all down for page one of the early edition . . .”
— Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72

Category: Books, Election, Journalism, Politics

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