Modern Presidential Communications - Communicating Presidential Rhetorical Vision in a Changing World

(Seal
of
the
President
of
the
United
States,
Graphic
Obtained
from
Wikipedia)

Modern
Presidential

Communication

Communicating
Presidential
Rhetorical
Vision
in
a

Changing
World

Rahul
Singh

Modern
United
States
Presidency,
Spring
2013

Ambassador
Paul
Russo,
Former

4/29/2013

Table
of
Contents

Modern
Presidential
Communication
.............................................................................................................
1

Communicating
Presidential
Rhetorical
Vision
in
a
Changing
World
..........................................
1

Introduction
..........................................................................................................................................................................................
1

Hypothetical
Strategic
Design
of
a
Campaign
.........................................................................................................................
3

Create
a
singular
rhetorical
vision
for
the
target
audience
..............................................................................................
4

Build
a
community
from
and
of
the
target
audience
...........................................................................................................
6

Listen
to
and
learn
from
the
community
..................................................................................................................................
8

Create
actionable
content
around
the
singular
rhetorical
vision
..................................................................................
9

Spread
and
propagate
the
message
.........................................................................................................................................
12

Activate
community
members
to
participants
...................................................................................................................
13

Measure
to
improve.
Improve
to
succeed.
Repeat.
...........................................................................................................
14

Change
is
the
only
constant
.........................................................................................................................................................
16

Modern
Presidential
Communication

ii

Rahul
Singh

Modern
United
States
Presidency,
Spring
2013

Ambassador
Paul
Russo,
Former

4/29/2013

Modern
Presidential
Communication

Communicating
Presidential
Rhetorical
Vision
in
a
Changing
World

Introduction

The
modern
president
must
manage
communications
with
different
groups
of

people
in
different
parties
and
professions,
in
different
cities
and
states,
and
in
different

socio-‐economic
stations
in
life
using
a
variety
of
tools
and
resources
in
the
new
world
of

media
that
is
fragmented
across
several
different
platforms.
How
does
the
Office
of
the

President
strategically
manage
its
communications
so
that
its
agenda
is
pushed
forward?

How
does
the
President
speak
to
the
People
to
get
them
to
push
their
Representatives
and

Senators
to
back
certain
decisions
that
are
in
line
with
the
White
House's
agenda?
How

does
a
Presidential
candidate
prove
that
he
or
she
can
communicate
with
the
people
well

enough
to
be
President?

Political
scholars,
especially
those
that
study
the
President,
have
drawn
several

theories
about
presidential
communication.
Jeffrey
Tulis
explains
how
the
Presidency
has

‘transformed’
over
the
years
to
keep
up
with
or
in
sometimes
lead
in
the
modes
of

communication
available
to
them.
From
the
beginning
of
the
American
Republic,
rhetoric

has
been
a
substantial
element
of
politics.
Rhetoric
has
been
part
of
politics
from
the

Modern
Presidential
Communication

1

beginning
of
democratic
rule,
and
any
time
in
history
where
a
leader
convinces
followers
to

motivate
them
to
take
action.
The
leader
of
a
nation
leads
through
persuasion
to
influence

those
that
make
decisions
and
take
actions.
They
gather
followers
with
influence,
from
the

beginning
of
the
campaign
to
run
for
office
to
the
day
they
leave
office
and
continue
their

legacy
in
the
public
sphere.

The
President
of
the
United
States
leads
by
first
convincing
the
nation
to
elect
him

or
her,
and
then
later
by
convincing
the
legislators
in
government
to
enact
laws
that
push

the
advertised
agenda.
Many
would
argue
the
role
of
the
Executive
Department
hasn’t

changed,
and
that
only
the
communications
strategies
and
tactics
need
to
change
in
order

for
it
to
fulfill
it’s
duties.
Although
there
are
elements
of
national
leadership
that
can
be

considered
core
elements
of
governance
in
any
nation
and
in
any
type
of
nation,
the
role
of

the
Executive
has
changed
in
America
and
will
continue
to
change
into
the
future
because

of
the
way
that
technology
impacts
people,
their
daily
lives
and
activities,
and
of
course

their
knowledge
of
world
they
live
in.

Modern
media
has
transformed
in
the
last
30
years
with
the
advent
of
the
public

Internet,
the
continued
ubiquity
of
television
and
radio,
and
an
abundance
of
content

creators
and
distributors.
Regardless
of
the
technological
changes,
the
importance
of

proper
rhetoric
in
the
President’s
message
is
as
important
as
the
strategic
design
of
a

communications
plan
and
it’s
tactical
execution.
With
each
technological
advance,
masters

of
messaging,
advertising,
marketing,
communication,
and
public
relations
have
cultivated

general
processes
to
maximize
the
distribution
of
messages.
Distributing
the
message
alone

Modern
Presidential
Communication

2

is
not
good
enough.
As
with
any
good
marketing
campaign,
the
result
must
be
an
action
to

eventually
buy
the
product.
A
President’s
wish
to
move
the
country
in
a
particular
way
is

not
too
different
from
a
campaign.

As
with
any
campaign
whether
political,
marketing,
or

governmental,
success
is
measured
in
results:
people
understanding
the
message;
people

spreading
the
message;
and
people
taking
action
because
of
their
understanding
of
the

message.

Hypothetical
Strategic
Design
of
a
Campaign

The
jury
is
still
out
on
what
is
the
best
way
to
run
a
new
media
campaign
as
evidenced

by
thousands
of
blog
posts
about
the
best
ways
to
market
online
that
are
in
constant
flux
as

technologies,
platforms,
and
social
networks
come
and
go.1
As
with
television
and
radio,

most
campaigns
remain
the
same
but
change
due
to
the
cultural
make
up
and
public

consciousness
to
get
people
to
take
action
from
a
message.
An
advertising
campaign
and
a

political
campaign
are
differently
only
in
the
desired
results.
The
approach
and
strategies

are
similar,
and
the
methods
and
tactics
are
almost
identical.
There
are
certain
patterns
in

the
processes
across
media
that
have
been
seen
numerous
times
and
have
been
validated

by
several
practitioners.2

•

Create
a
singular
rhetorical
vision
for
the
target
audience.

•

Build
a
community
from
and
of
the
target
audience.

•

Listen
to
and
learn
from
the
community.

1
A
search
on
Google
for
“online
marketing
strategies”
results
in
new
articles
every
day,

2
(Singh)
Referencing
presentation
made
by
author
regarding
executing
internet
strategy.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

3

•

Create
actionable
content
around
the
singular
rhetorical
vision.

•

Spread
and
propagate
the
message.

•

Activate
community
members
into
participants.

•

Measure
to
improve.
Improve
to
succeed.
Repeat.

This
paper
sets
out
to
show
how
certain
presidents,
primarily
Reagan
and
Obama,
have

elements
of
success
in
communicating
presidential
rhetoric.

Create
a
singular
rhetorical
vision
for
the
target
audience

In
his
treatise
On
Rhetoric,
Aristotle
defines
the
three
elements
of
rhetoric
as
ethos,

pathos,
and
logos.3
In
very
general
terms,
ethos
is
the
ability
to
establish
credibility,
pathos

is
the
ability
to
inspire
or
motivate
the
audience
with
their
self-‐interest,
and
a
logos
is
the

truthfulness
of
the
argument.4
Rhetoric
is
the
art
of
persuasion,
and
President
and
the

Office
of
the
President
must
master
it.
As
a
prerequisite
to
being
President,
the
person
must

get
elected
President.
They
utilize
rhetoric
to
get
to
the
top,
and
must
utilize
it
to
do
their

job.
Jeffrey
Tulis,
The
Rhetorical
Presidency,
argues
that
the
President’s
use
of
rhetoric
has

been
a
part
of
American
governance
since
George
Washington.
He
also
says
that
rhetorical

leadership
is
fundamental
to
political
leadership:

3
(Insert
reference
to
Rhetoric)

4
(Aristotle)

Modern
Presidential
Communication

4

Beneath
the
differing
policies
of
Democrats
and
Republicans
and
varying
abilities
to

secure
partisan
objectives
lies
a
common
understanding
of
the
essence
of
the

modern
presidency
–
rhetorical
leadership.5

Good
rhetoric
leaves
the
audience
persuaded
into
a
different
state
of
mind.
In
order
for
an

audience
to
be
moved,
the
message
itself
must
be
clear.
Some
of
the
most
popular

presidents
have
utilized
a
singular
message
to
move
the
country
to
elect
them
and
later
to

listen
to
them
while
in
government.

Reagan

Ronald
Reagan,
known
widely
as
the
Great
Communicator,
was
deeply
involved
in

the
construction
of
speeches
that
not
only
sounded
good,
but
also
were
easy
to
read.6

Although
Tulis
notes
his
mistakes
in
the
Iran-‐Contra
affair,
he
highlights
that
Reagan’s

ability
to
persuade
people
and
shift
policy
was
so
good,
that
Democrats
(in
1987)
talked

like
Republicans.
Ambassador
Paul
Russo,
who
worked
in
the
Reagan
administration,

mentions
that
Reagan’s
speeches
throughout
his
campaigns
and
his
tenure
as
President

contained
‘basically
the
same
message.’7
Reagan’s
determination
to
stick
to
specific
topics

that
he
had
internalized
made
him
a
genuine
rhetorical
leader.
Whether
he
was
talking

about
anti-‐communism
or
a
smaller
government,
the
message
was
singular
and
because
he

5
(Tulis,
p4)
Tulis
sets
the
stage
for
his
book
“The
Rhetorical
Presidency”
by
explaining
that

presidential
rhetoric
has
transformed
from
age
to
age
in
America,
building
upon
old

methods
rather
than
changing
completely.

6
(Tulis,
p191)
Reagan
is
profiled
under
“Dilemmas
of
Governance.”

7
(Russo)
Class
lectures
on
President
Reagan
by
Ambassador
Paul
Russo

Modern
Presidential
Communication

5

was
able
to
describe
his
vision
through
years
of
practice
at
G.E.
and
as
a
sports
announcer,

his
“doctrine”
became
clear
to
people.8

Obama

Obama’s
campaigns
contained
a
singular
rhetorical
vision:
one
America
with
hope
to

change
for
the
better.
He
began
this
when
he
became
recognized
as
an
extraordinary
orator

at
the
Democratic
National
Convention
in
2004
when
he
spoke
for
John
Kerry.
The
same

message
stayed
with
him
throughout
the
2008
election
campaign.
He
believed
in
and

spread
the
message
that
is
exemplified
by
this
quote:

Well,
I
say
to
them
tonight,
there
is
not
a
liberal
America
and
a
conservative
America

—
there
is
the
United
States
of
America.
There
is
not
a
Black
America
and
a
White

America
and
Latino
America
and
Asian
America
—
there’s
the
United
States
of

America.9

Many
subsequent
speeches
echoed
his
sentiments
of
the
‘hope’
that
Kerry
and
Edwards

were
offering
near
the
end
of
the
2004
speech.
With
this
speech,
Obama
had
created
the

‘singular
rhetorical
vision’
that
would
be
then
used
for
the
rest
of
his
campaigns,
both

senatorial
and
presidential.

Build
a
community
from
and
of
the
target
audience

John
Maxwell,
in
many
of
his
books,
describes
a
common
pattern
of
great
leaders.

Good
leaders
create
a
community
of
people
through
their
influence.
Without
influence,
they

8
(Kaufman)
Heritage
Foundation
talk
on
Ronald
Reagan’s
“first
principles
of
foreign

policy.”

9
(Obama)
Obama’s
debut
speech
at
the
2004
DNC.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

6

are
not
leaders.
Great
leaders
are
able
to
inspire
and
develop
people
into
leaders
in
a

community
that
then
inspire
others
to
follow.10
They
inspire
others
to
become
great

leaders
and
live
the
message
they
preach.
Bill
Drayton,
CEO
of
Ashoka
Foundation,

describes
“social
impact”
in
four
levels.
He
says
that
the
first
level
of
impact
is
direct

service,
the
second
level
is
scaling
the
service
with
more
people
in
a
group,
the
third
level
is

causing
a
pattern
change
that
people
outside
the
group
start
to
do
the
same
thing,
and
the

fourth
level
is
causing
a
framework
change
that
changes
lives
across
the
nation
or
the

world.11

Obama

Barrack
Obama’s
campaign
for
the
Presidency
in
2008,
and
then
in
2012
evidenced

his
ability
to
create
a
singular
rhetorical.
The
message
of
“Hope,”
“Change,”

“Change
we
can

believe
in,”
“Yes
we
can,”
and
most
importantly
“Vote”
were
clear
and
easy
to
digest.
Even
if

people
didn’t
agree
with
him,
they
knew
that
he
was
running
and
for
what.

The
message
of
the
singular
rhetorical
vision
alone
is
not
enough.
Without
an
audience
the

message
is
useless.
The
reason
that
Obama’s
messages
were
received
so
well
is
because
he

utilized
several
mechanisms
to
develop
leaders
within
his
campaign
organization.

Obama’s

election
was
more
than
election;
it
was
a
movement.

Obama’s
group
of
young
innovators

created
a
pattern
and
framework
change
in
the
way
to
cultivate
leaders
and
followers
for

their
movement.

10
(Maxwell)
Describes
great
leadership
as
level
5
leadership:
leaders
that
develop
leaders.

11
(Drayton)
Small
group
discussion
with
Bill
Drayton
at
the
McDonough
School
of
Business

with
other
students.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

7

As
FDR
with
radio,
and
JFK
with
television,
Obama
utilized
social
media
as
the
technology

of
the
time.12
Obama’s
campaign
created
a
website
that
allowed
supporters
to
become

active
participants
by
recruiting
further
donors
and
supporters.
The
one
of
the
many

pattern
changes
that
Obama’s
team
implemented
was
the
use
of
social
media
for
organizing

people
for
citizen
action.
They
utilized
existing
ideas
in
social
network
software
to
create

My.BarackObama.com
that
then
became
the
central
hub
for
the
Obama
election
movement

for
people
around
the
country.

They
created
was
utilizing
social
media
to
connect
to
the

masses
into
a
community.13
FDR
and
JFK
may
have
utilized
their
communications

infrastructure
well,
but
Obama’s
team
created
their
own.14
Obama’s
campaign
first
created

a
pattern
change
in
the
management
of
political
movements
in
the
Democratic
Party.
By

influencing
McCain
and
Romney
to
follow
suit,
they
created
a
framework
change
by

changing
the
way
Republicans
do
business.

Listen
to
and
learn
from
the
community

When
McCain
mimicked
Obama’s
social
network
in
2008,
it
was
too
late
in
the

game.15
Romney
mimicked
Obama’s
use
of
social
media
and
email
in
2012,
but
lacked
an

important
element.
They
may
have
been
trying
very
hard
to
keep
up
with
the
technology

and
creating
a
community,
but
they
weren’t
listening.
Their
data
was
coming
from
Gallup

12
(Nations)
Collection
of
notes
on
About.com
regarding
web
2.0
tendencies
by
the
Obama

campaign.

13
(Nations)
ibid.

14
(Smith)
Article
that
explains
how
the
technology
from
the
2008
election
was
being
used

in
Georgia
by
the
democrats.

15
(Ostrow)
Article
on
the
re-‐launch
of
the
McCainSpace.com
website.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

8

polls.
In
this
day
and
age,
Gallup
is
just
one
among
many
equally
good
sources
for
public

opinion
and
direction.

Obama

Gray
Keller’s
framework
for
servant
leadership
includes
a
very
simple
mnemonic

device
for
understanding
how
to
truly
engage
people
as
a
leader.
It
claims
that
good

leadership
is
about
loving
people,
listening
to
them,
learning
from
them,
liberating
them

from
their
struggle,
and
living
rather
than
leaving
a
legacy.16

One
of
the
major
innovations
in
the
2012
election
by
Obama’s
campaign
was
their

ability
to
listen
and
learn
to
their
constituents.
By
creating
a
social
network
platform
for

their
political
movement,
they
then
gave
it
to
the
Democratic
Party.
During
the
2008
and

the
2012
elections,
the
platform
continuously
improved
to
do
more
than
just
organize

people
on
a
website.
The
platform
was
collecting
information
in
various
ways
to

understand
the
actions
people
were
taking:
logging
on
to
their
site;
the
people
opening
the

emails;
sharing
the
message
on
a
social
network;
and
countless
other
activities.17

This

trend
is
known
elsewhere
in
the
industry
as
utilizing
“analytics”
to
measure
“key
metrics”

and
“leveraging
Big
Data”
to
make
intelligent
decisions
and
take
intelligent
actions.

Create
actionable
content
around
the
singular
rhetorical
vision

The
best
visionaries
are
able
to
communicate
their
ideas
in
such
a
way
that
others

can
understand,
own,
and
help
carry
the
vision
to
fruition.
Once
the
President
or

16
(Keller)
Class
lecture
/
Presentation
by
leadership
expert
in
“Character
Conscience
and

Courage”
class.

17
(Levinthal)
Article
on
the
amount
of
data
that
BarackObama.com
is
collecting
on
users.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

9

Presidential
candidate
has
a
solid
community
to
speak
to,
the
singular
rhetorical
vision

must
be
created
as
actionable
content.
Although
collecting
data
from
the
community
has

been
a
part
of
every
presidential
campaign
since
Reagan,
recently,
it
is
the
ability
to
create

personalized
actionable
content
that
differentiates
the
winners
from
the
losers.

Reagan

Although
Reagan
himself
was
a
great
rhetorician,
his
team
hired
the
right
folks
to

help
advertise
him
in
the
1984
election.
Utilizing
simple
yet
powerful
ads
that
struck
the

nerve
of
the
American
people,
they
were
able
to
motivate
people
to
keep
Reagan
as

President.18

The
“Bear
in
the
Woods
“
commercial
that
aired
during
Reagan’s
election
campaign

against
Walter
Mondale,
was
created
using
data
collected
from
focus
groups.
Specific
issues

that
were
“problem
areas”
for
Reagan
against
Mondale
were
analyzed.19
One
of
the
major

issues
was
“world
peace.”
When
the
“Bear
in
the
Woods”
ad
was
tested
in
a
focus
group,
it

was
validated
to
bring
up
thoughts
of
“peace
through
strength.”20

By
listening
to
the
people
and
what
their
concerns
were,
Reagan’s
team
was
able
to

create
content
crafted
to
alleviate
their
concerns.

18
(Raine)
Article
on
Riney,
one
of
the
folks
that
helped
create
Reagan’s
image
in
1984.

19
(Merrin)
Conversation
with
marketing
expert
that
told
me
how
focus
groups
were
used

to
understand
the
concerns
of
the
American
people
and
the
“gateway”
issues
which
would

make
or
break
the
election.

20
(Wikipedia)
Article
regarding
the
“Bear
in
the
woods”
commecial.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

10

Obama

As
far
back
as
the
2008
and
as
recently
as
the
2012
elections,
Obama
and
now
the

Democratic
Party
has
been
utilizing
advanced
tools
to
create
personalized
actionable

content
to
“activate”
people
from
passers
by.
The
viral
nature
of
social
networks
allowed

the
Obama
campaign
to
recruit
millions
of
people
across
several
social
networks
including

their
own.
The
data
that
they
collected
on
My.BarackObama.com
was
then
used
to
create

personalized
email
campaigns
that
sent
the
users
to
personalized
landing
pages
that
asked

them
to
take
relevant
actions
on
the
website
depending
on
what
they
clicked,
where
they

were
from,
or
what
information
was
stored
about
them.21
Obama’s
vision
of
change

included
the
people
that
were
supporting
him
and
by
including
them
in
the
campaign,
he

gave
them
a
part
in
the
new
vision
of
America
of
‘Change’
and
‘Hope’
that
he
was
trying
to

bring
to
light.

My.BarackObama.com
trained
its
users
to
personalize
their
home
pages
on
the
site

and
then
empowered
them
to
create
personalized
sub-‐campaigns
to
recruit
supporters.

Language
on
the
site
included
calls
to
action
such
as
“Four
Steps
to
Raising
Money
from

your
Friends”22
and
politely
motivated
them
to
“Reach
out
to
Voters”
by
asking
them
to

“Make
Calls”
and
“Knock
on
Doors”.23

21
(Ciotti)
Article
on
industry
blog
on
metrics
measurement
and
anlaysis
regarding
5
email

lessons
gained
from
Barack
Obama’s
campaigns

22
(Organizing
for
Action)
Document
from
the
old
My.BarackObama.com

23
(Organizing
for
Action)
Document
from
the
old
My.BarackObama.com

Modern
Presidential
Communication

11

Spread
and
propagate
the
message

Regardless
of
whether
the
content
of
the
message
is
a
call
to
recruit
more
people
to

bombard
their
representatives
to
vote
a
certain
way,
raise
money
for
a
campaign,
or
to

create
a
local
chapter
to
grow
the
vision,
the
message
must
be
spread
in
a
way
that
people

listen.

The
challenge
for
the
modern
President
or
the
Presidential
candidate
is
to

understand
what
is
the
best
communications
infrastructure
to
use
and
when
to
use
it.

As

mentioned
before,
FDR
pioneered
the
use
of
radio
for
politics,
JFK,
the
television,
and

Obama,
the
social
networks.
Each
media
outlet
is
necessary
but
not
sufficient.
Up
until
FDR,

other
media
continued
to
exist
in
the
form
of
newspapers.
By
JFK’s
time,
radio
was

widespread
in
addition
to
the
newspaper.
If
the
singular
rhetorical
vision
is
to
be
spread
to

call
to
action
the
populace
to
take
civic
action
whether
by
their
vote,
their
call
to
their

elected
official,
or
to
grow
the
movement,
it
must
be
spread
with
and
by
all
tactical

methods
possible.

Today,
there
are
growing
numbers
of
online
marketing
and
campaign
strategies
that

should
be
utilized
in
conjunction
with
traditional
marketing
and
campaigning.
These

“strategies”
have
recently
started
to
coalesce
into
books
such
as
The
Ultimate
Web

Marketing
Guide
that
define
the
different
types
of
“new
media”
and
how
to
utilize
them.24

These
online
strategies
are
in
some
ways
tactical
methods
for
a
higher
order
strategic

communications
process
such
as
the
one
this
paper
proposes,
and
in
some
sense
strategies

24
(Miller)
One
of
the
many
books
on
online
marketing
today
that
covers
several
online

strategies.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

12

that
need
to
be
designed
for
specific
audiences.
Since
these
technologies
will
continue
to

change
in
the
future,
the
approach
matters
more
than
the
method.
Romney
and
Obama

both
used
email,
but
Obama’s
team
was
able
to
engage
and
activate
more
people
because

they
“listened”
to
their
constituents
and
re-‐propagated
more
finely
tuned
messaging.

Activate
community
members
to
participants

The
President
is
the
leader
of
the
United
States
but
should
not
assume
that
all

community
members
are
listening.
Neither
the
President
nor
the
Presidential
candidate

has
any
guarantee
that
those
that
are
listening
to
the
message
are
acting.
Activation
and

active
engagement
is
the
key
to
any
campaign.
Activation
and
engagement
are
not
a
simple

linear
process.
They
are
components
of
a
continuously
cyclical
process
that
strives
to
raise

the
most
in-‐active
members
in
the
community
to
the
most
active
members
in
the

community.
If
the
message
of
the
singular
rhetorical
vision
is
good,
if
the
community
is

strong,
if
the
message
is
tuned
according
to
what
the
masses
are
saying,
if
the
content
has

been
personalized
for
the
community
member,
if
it
has
been
spread
across
several
forms
of

media,
then
there
is
a
likely
hood
that
it
has
been
received.

The
reception
of
the
message
should
then
trigger
an
action,
however
little
and

insignificant.
It
may
take
several
cycles
of
communication
in
order
to
convince
someone
to

take
physical
action.
This
has
been
known
in
the
business
practices
of
Sales
and
Marketing

for
years.
It
may
take
several
touch-‐points
to
get
someone
to
“buy,”
and
continue,
“using”
to

Modern
Presidential
Communication

13

create
a
meaningful
“customer
experience.”25
A
successful
series
of
campaigns
keeps
a

‘customer
for
life’
with
a
high
customer
lifetime
value.

Each
communications
cycle
may
result
in
higher
order
activation
from
the
one

before,
but
no
matter
how
insignificant,
it
builds
mindshare
in
the
person
and
starts
to

make
them
loyal
to
the
message.
For
example,
a
sample
“supporter
journey
map”
for
a

citizen
that
becomes
a
registered
voter
through
a
campaign
might
look
like
this:
citizen;

reader
of
forwarded
campaign
email;
visitor
of
campaign
website
landing
page;
subscriber

to
email
list
with
some
personal
information;
receiver
of
personalized
email;
forwarder
of

email
to
friends;
receiver
of
email
to
register
to
vote;
registered
voter.
A
journey
map
from

a
registered
voter
to
a
voter
that
votes
for
a
candidate
is
much
more
complicated
and

requires
a
complicated
set
of
machinery
to
measure
and
ensure
success.
Each
person’s

ability
to
impact
others
is
magnified
because
of
the
interconnectedness
of
the
Internet.

Obama’s
campaigns
created
‘lifetime’
followers
in
“Obama
for
America”
that
elected
him
to

office,
and
wanted
to
support
his
initiatives
with
what
is
now
the
“Organizing
for
Action”

because
they
strove
to
activate
and
actively
engage
people
to
become
active
and
engaged

citizens,
not
just
voters
for
a
presidential
term.

Measure
to
improve.
Improve
to
succeed.
Repeat.

In
the
technology
startup
community,
several
schools
of
thought
have
convened
on
a

few
principles
of
success
for
Internet
companies.
Some
books
such
as
Eric
Reis’
Lean

25
(Richardson)
HBR
Blog
article
about
the
importance
of
touchpoints
in
creating
customer

experience.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

14

Startup
Method,
reiterate
ideas
from
the
Toyota
Engineering
Method
and
Steve
Blank’s

Four
Steps
to
the
Epiphany.
One
such
principle
is
the
idea
of
“Build
–
Measure
–
Learn”
that

says
that
after
all
action
is
validated
and
accounted
for,
the
team
must
build,
measure,
and

learn
through
a
virtuous
cycle.26
The
exact
metrics
that
need
to
be
measured
depends
on

the
vision,
strategy,
and
whatever
happens
to
be
the
“product.”
The
vision
rarely
changes.

The
strategy
may
change
as
part
of
a
“pivot”
in
thought
of
how
to
do
something.
The

product
changes
frequently
with
build,
measurement
of
user
activity,
and
learning
what
the

users
want.

Thus
far,
others
in
the
startup
community
have
also
created
a
canon
for
core
metrics

that
every
“internet”
presence
should
measure
including
online
campaigns
that
wish
to

activate
citizens
into
actively
engaged
citizens.
These
include
“Acquisitions,”
“Activations,”

“Referrals,”
“Retention,”
and
“Revenue.”
Surprisingly,
these
correlate
fairly
well
with
the

metrics
that
the
President’s
or
the
Presidential
candidate’s
team
should
be
measuring
to

tune
their
communications
cycle.

Obama

Obama’s
campaigns
in
2008
and
2012
both
utilized
the
data
they
collected
on
users

to
understand
user
behaviors
as
well
as
how
to
maximize
metrics
similar
to
those

26
(Reis)
The
Lean
Startup
Method
has
popularized
the
“kaizen”
method
used
by
Toyota
for

years.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

15

mentioned
earlier
and
others
that
were
more
specific
to
the
type
of
media
that
was

utilized.27

Obama’s
campaign
utilized
metrics
to
maximize
metrics
across
all
media
channels

available
to
them.
They
utilized
targeted
method
of
advertising
to
acquire
users
on
several

platforms
such
as
Twitter,
Facebook,
and
YouTube
in
addition
to
their
own.
They
continued

to
fine-‐tune
their
broadcast
mechanisms
and
used
various
methods
to
see
what
methods

acquired
the
most
users.
Once
they
had
people’s
attention,
they
utilized
and
measured
the

different
methods
for
activating
these
users
into
more
active
participants.
Once
they
had

participants,
they
then
empowered
them
to
refer/recruit
others
all
the
while
continuously

improving
to
retain
them
on
their
various
platforms
to
build
community,
mindshare,
and
a

movement.

The
differentiating
factor
for
Obama’s
campaign
engine
is
that
they
followed
simple

processes
to
create
a
feedback
loop
from
the
people
they
were
trying
to
motivate
into

action.
With
the
help
of
technology,
they
were
able
to
“listen”
better.
They
were
able
to

“build
–
measure
–
learn”
like
the
modern
technology
startups
and
keep
changing
with
the

times.

Change
is
the
only
constant

The
world
is
changing.
People,
processes,
and
information
are
continuously
self-‐
organizing
into
new
patterns
and
frameworks,
led
by
change
makers
and
leaders
that

27
(SocialMedia8)
Slideshow
showing
aspects
of
the
Barack
Obama
Strategy

Modern
Presidential
Communication

16

understand
that
change
is
elemental.
Modern
presidents
need
to
embrace
each
new

technology
that
comes
with
the
accelerated
pace
of
a
globalized
inter-‐connected
world.

In
the
corporate
world,
the
role
of
information
and
technology
have
transformed
the

way
businesses
are
structured,
run,
grow,
and
communicate
with
their
customers.

As
the

role
of
the
Chief
Information
Officer
and
the
Chief
Technology
Officer
are
elevated,
the
Chief

Marketing
Officers
are
prioritizing
customer
loyalty
as
their
biggest
digital
concern.28

The
President
and
the
presidential
candidate’s
job
are
different
from
a
CEO’s.
The

role
of
the
government
and
that
of
a
campaign
is
different
from
what
a
business
does.

Though
these
systems
are
different,
the
communications
cycles
are
similar.

The
elements

of
rhetoric
are
as
relevant
as
they
were
in
Aristotle’s
time.
The
idea
that
great
leadership
is

an
act
of
empowering
leaders
is
as
relevant
as
in
any
organization.
The
President
leads
by

communicating
rhetorically,
by
persuading
the
population
to
move
a
certain
way.
They
get

there
by
convincing
the
masses
with
the
same
rhetorical
skills.
The
times
are
different,
but

the
job
of
communicating
is
the
same.

From
the
examples
of
FDR,
JFK,
Reagan,
and
primarily
Obama,
we
can
see
an

example
of
a
rhetorical
president
that
not
only
uses
the
communications
infrastructure

available
but
also
innovates
new
ones
because
that
is
the
change
that
is
required.
Although

Obama’s
rhetoric
was
communicated
using
pattern
and
framework
changes
in
the

communications
systems,
Obama
advertised
his
agenda
as
a
pattern
and
framework

28
(IBM)
Study
of
trends
of
Chief
Marketing
Officers

Modern
Presidential
Communication

17

change.
He
embraced
the
idea
that
change
is
necessary
to
move
forward.
He
established
his

credibility
(ethos)
through
speeches
that
struck
at
the
heart
of
people’s
lives
(pathos)
and

showed
them
that
a
system
change
was
necessary
(logos).
His
team
took
this
singular

rhetorical
vision,
created
a
community
of
followers
and
burgeoning
leaders,
and
together

propagated
the
message
across
the
country
while
improving
how
they
were
doing
it.

Modern
Presidential
Communication

18

Bibliography

Aristotle.
On
Rhetoric.
Trans.
George
Kennedy.
n.d.

Ciotti,
Gregory.
5
Email
Marketing
Lessons
From
The
Obama
Campaign.
1
November
2012.

28
April
2013
<http://blog.kissmetrics.com/email-‐marketing-‐lessons-‐obama/>.

Drayton,
Bill.
Conversation
with
Georgetown
University
Students
before
SIPS
Fund
Lecture

Rahul
Singh.
23
April
2013.

IBM.
"From
Stretched
to
Strengthened,
Insights
from
the
Global
Chief
Marketing
Officer."

25
October
2011.
Slideshare.net.
28
April
2013
<http://www.slideshare.net/ikinser/ibm-‐
cmos>.

Kaufman,
Robert
G.
The
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of
Ronald
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1
November

2011.
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April
2013
<http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/11/the-‐first-‐
principles-‐of-‐ronald-‐reagans-‐foreign-‐policy>.

Keller,
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to
Character,
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and
Courage
Class
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23
March

2013.

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Dave.
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2012
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2013.
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April
2013

<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74095.html>.

Maxwell,
John.
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York:
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Mary
Beth.
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Mary
Beth
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Rahul
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March

2010.

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Michael.
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Web
Marketing
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Indianapolis:
Pearson
Education,
Que

Publishing,
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Daniel.
How
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12
December

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April
2013
<http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/obama-‐web.htm>.

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2013

<http://usliberals.about.com/od/extraordinaryspeeches/a/ObamaSpeech_3.htm>.

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Presidential
Communication

19

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