Some of the most interesting and colourful debates at the ALP national conference are being held at its fringe events. Drawing a crowd today was Jeff Blodgett, the former Minnesota campaign director for Barack Obama. He spoke about why the Obama campaign was so successful and what lessons can be drawn from it and joins Lateline to discuss this:
Transcript
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Some of the most interesting and colourful debates at the ALP national conference are being held at its fringe events. Attracting a crowd today was Jeff Blodgett, the Minnesota campaign director for Barack Obama. He spoke about why the Obama campaign was so successful and what lessons can be drawn from it. Mr Blodgett joins us now.
Thankyou very much for coming in.
JEFF BLODGETT, FORMER MINNESOTA OBAMA CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR: Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
LEIGH SALES: I don't imagine today's Labor Party conference was quite as colourful as the hoopla you see at American political conferences?
JEFF BLODGETT: Well, it is sort of like comparing apples and oranges. Our conventions are really designed to coordinate our nominee for the party, every four years, and, you know, this party here, the ALP convention is really to help craft the guiding principles of policy for the governing - for the Government. So, they're really very different, and this was a very serious policy-making convention and ours is just a stage-managed hoopla.
LEIGH SALES: The political systems broadly, and the political cultures between the two countries, are very different. Nonetheless, are there universals of campaigning that can be applied to both?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, I think so. I mean, in the US and with the Obama campaign, what I'm very interested in is how you include people in elections and also in policy-making. And I think that's something that any democratic process, you know, should be interested in. So, I think that's a real universal, is candidates who are able to draw people into their campaign and then use them to help them win elections, and then stay involved in the policy-making process.
LEIGH SALES: And Obama had a great deal of success with that. How did he go about doing that?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, he included people in his campaign in ways and in numbers we've never seen before in the US. And there's a couple of reasons for that. First of all, it was the kind of candidate he was. He's very authentic. He was real to people, he inspired young people, he spoke about what our country can do, it was a very positive campaign. And that really attracted huge numbers to his effort. And then the campaign invested in organisation. Organisers and a technology that helped really bring people in and use them effectively. So, it was both the candidacy and the kind of candidate he was and the style and the way the campaign was organised.
LEIGH SALES: Let's talk about the organisational side of it first. Have those people remained politically active after the election?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah. Well the Obama administration is working to do that. They are asking their supporters for help, helping pass healthcare reform and climate change bills that are right now working their way through Congress and they're running into roadblocks. So, yeah, that's the whole point. And i think, you know, there's a huge number of young people and I think they're very interested in the policy debates, they're very engaged, and many people are going out and now doorknocking and lobbying their members of Congress and writing letters and standing up and telling their member of Congress to support the Obama agenda.
LEIGH SALES: We hear a lot about how social networking was a part of mobilising those people. How big a factor was it and what were some of the other ways that people were mobilised?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, well, his campaign supporters really came together through the internet and the website and the social community that was built. And that was - and so people felt very included in the campaign. They felt that there was a two-way conversation going on. It wasn't all just being told what to do. People felt like they had input, and then, when the campaign asked for their help, people were more enthusiastic than ever to go out and do work. And so, that was very important. But, also, there was organisers, you know, people on the ground who would make sure that supporters would come into the office, and then go out and doorknock, which is what we were doing a lot of on the Obama campaign - going out and talking to voters at the door about why Barack Obama was their candidate and to ask for their support. So, it was definitely an online, community, it was virtual and then we turned people into real supporters on the ground to actual go out and talk to voters.
LEIGH SALES: When you are so inclusive and have such a broad tent like that, is it hard though to maintain discipline and keep everyone on message?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, that's a really good question, because that's a main focus of a campaign is to be very strategic, very focused. And this campaign was. The way it was done, though, is that we explained to supporters why it is we were saying the things we were saying to voters, why we were going out to talk to them, why we're going here as opposed to somewhere else, and then their role in the race. So, we actually revealed the campaign strategy to our supporters. And then they were all in favour of going out and doing what the campaign had decided what was the most strategic thing to do. So it was a disciplined campaign. But first, we shared information with our supporters and made people feel like they were really part of why we were doing this. And then they went out and did it.
LEIGH SALES: Is there something deeper to the political activity surrounding Obama than just the Obama celebrity, than the, I guess, coolness of his persona, if you like?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, I think so. They talk about the Obama celebrity, but he wasn't a celebrity when he ran for office; he was really unknown. And so, I actually think it's his leadership style. He - first of all, he told a story, he revealed something about himself and why he was running for office. And when he talked about the issues, it was always connected to the values that he grew up with, that was part of his life story. And it turned out that story really was something that resonated with people.
Secondly, he had - he inspired people. His speaking style was something we don't often see in US politics. A lot of times it's very policy-based conversations that candidates are having. But he talked about big issues and talked about inspiring people to be their best selves.
And so it was those things that actually, I think, really attracted huge numbers of people to his candidacy.
LEIGH SALES: You used the word authenticity before and talked about the importance of that, and I guess that's what you were getting at there with that answer. Are people craving authenticity as a reaction to excessive political spin?
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, that's right. You know, people are pretty cynical about politics in the US. And even, some people really have contempt for elected officials and for candidates. And so, when they find a candidate that seems real to them, it can be really powerful. And so we talk about authenticity, we train candidates, in the work I do, beyond the Obama campaign, and we talk about how you come across as real and authentic to voters. And it really has to do with, instead of just talking about your policy positions or trying to be all things to all people, talk about what are your convictions, what are your values, what do you hold dear, how did you come to hold those and why are you running for office, what's your motivation for running? Those things are really important, and in fact, most voters, they're looking for that, as opposed to whether or not the person is on the right side of a given issue.
LEIGH SALES: On this question of authenticity, though, I'm reminded of an old Bill Cosby gag, where he says - he asks a friend, you know, "Why do you smoke marijuana?," and the friend says, "Oh, because it enhances your personality." And Bill Cosby says, "Yeah, but, what if you're an idiot?" Although he didn't use the word idiot. So in terms of politicians, I mean, what if authentically, you are a bore, or what if authentically you are ill-tempered, how is being authentic going to help you?
JEFF BLODGETT: Well then you probably not really suited to be a candidate for office. I mean, not everyone makes a good candidate. But, you know, if you're getting involved in politics because you care about issues and care about changing the world for the better, then you need to figure out how to convey that in a way that is real to people, that comes across as real. If you can't do that, then you're going to have trouble connecting voters. And you still can win. There's a lot of inauthentic politicians running around in the US. But for someone like Barack Obama, who at one time was kind of a long shot candidate when he first ran, it was that authentic style that actually, I think, launched his candidacy in such a big way and attracted the huge numbers of people, particularly young people, who I think have a pretty keen sense of who is real and who is trying to pull one over on them. And so I think the fact that there were so many young people involved is really a sign that Obama was able to communicate really who he was in an authentic way, and that started his - I think that really launched the candidacy on the scale that he needed to win, and we saw.
LEIGH SALES: As an expert on campaigning, if you were looking for the sort of candidate that could appeal against a Barack Obama, what sort of a person do you think would give him a good fight?
JEFF BLODGETT: I think someone similarly who lays out a different world view, and who genuinely has deep disagreements based on their own experience and values. And so, I think it's someone who, you know, in not an attacking way, but in a genuine way, lays out the differences.
LEIGH SALES: John McCain, in a lot of ways, was a candidate like that. He did have a very compelling narrative and personal story and strongly held values.
JEFF BLODGETT: Yeah, he had that, but there wasn't much beyond that. I mean, he actually moved around a lot on the issues. He took different positions, he switched positions. So, yeah, he had a compelling story as a hero, but he didn't necessarily connect that to what he wanted to do for the country. So, it's not just the story, it's then the message that you deliver. And if the story and the message align with each other, then that's really the authentic piece.
LEIGH SALES: So does this mean that you don't support the use of negative campaigning or attack campaigning?
JEFF BLODGETT: No, I wouldn't say that. The way I view it is that contrasting yourself with your opponent is important and legitimate. You know, elections are a choice. I think that becomes negative in the style and the tactics that are used in certain ads. And so I don't agree with that, but I do think that it's actually very important to lay out the choice that voters have from your perspective as a candidate, and the opponent will do the same. And so I really think a good debate, a good debate with serious disagreement - that's what the country's looking for in the US. And, you know, we don't have compulsory voting, so we have trouble with our turnout. And I think when we don't give voters choices, they don't vote. And we've had a lot of candidates that hover around the middle, that seem to be saying the same thing, regardless of the party. And so, I'm interested in real contrast and real debate and real clash about the very different world views that are out there. And so, I think Barack Obama presented a very definitive, a progressive view, and, you know, I think a good candidate, a good opponent for him would be someone who really comes out strongly on the other side.
LEIGH SALES: Jeff Blodgett, thankyou very much for coming in. Safe travels back to Minnesota.
LEIGH SALES: Yeah, thanks for having me.
