America's top 5 presidential campaigns

America's top 5 presidential campaigns


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SALT LAKE CITY -- In 1796, John Adams won the presidential election while staying at home.

His Federalist supporters argued the campaign issues through party publications instead, allowing Adams to keep with custom and stay above “the silly and wicked game.”

Electioneering has certainly come a long way since then. Today, running for president is a science, with candidates shelling out more money than ever for TV ads, billboards, websites, marketing plans, nationwide tours and political strategists who try to pull all these elements together into a successful campaign. But the greatest campaigns bring more than just a win.

Some campaigns result in a landslide. Others produce a last-minute surge, eke out impossible victories or turn campaign strategy on its head. All of them leave a lasting imprint on American history, and all of them change the way strategists and politicians think and operate. They are the efforts that have transformed Adams’ silly game into the campaigns of today.

Based on these criteria, here are the top five campaigns, in chronological order:

William Henry Harrison, 1840

When the aging war hero Harrison ran for president on the Whig party ticket, Democrats painted him as an elderly bumpkin who would rather retire and relax in a cabin sipping hard cider than run the U.S. administration. The Whig response was to launch what many historians consider the first modern campaign, complete with strategies, rallies, slogans and advertising.

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Instead of arguing over the Democrats’ insult, the Whigs embraced it, turning the high-born, well-educated Harrison into their “log cabin and hard cider” candidate, a man of the common people. Incumbent Martin Van Buren, meanwhile, was cast as a wealthy, out-of-touch elitist. The characterizations resonated with Americans, who already blamed Van Buren for the Panic of 1837 and were eager for a change.

The Whigs launched a national movement, making the log cabin and cider jug its symbols. Their images appeared on banners, flags, plates, medals and a host of other everyday objects. Supporters held parades, rallies — some of them inside log cabins — and speeches. Their slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too,” referenced his military victory over the Shawnee tribe and reinforced his image as a rough-and-tumble frontiersman.

Harrison won a decisive victory over Van Buren, thanks in large part to his revolutionary campaign — only to die of pneumonia just 32 days after taking office. But while his presidency was cut short, the strategies used to put him in office are still used today, more than 170 years after he was elected.

Harry S. Truman, 1948

With low approval ratings and a three-way split in his party, Truman's future as president seemed doomed. Most pollsters, pundits and newspapers had already declared that New York Gov. Thomas Dewey would oust him from office. But Truman fought tooth and nail in an effort that earned him the nickname, “Give 'Em Hell Harry.” The result was one of the greatest political comebacks in U.S. history.

Dewey had three weak spots: his party controlled a severely divided Congress, he was seen as being too aloof and he ran a vague, low-key campaign to avoid blowing his lead. Truman took advantage of all three to the fullest extent. He railed against the “Do Nothing Congress,” going as far as to bait Republicans with a special session — in which almost no meaningful billswere passe — to prove his point.

Truman traveled over 31,000 miles on the campaign trail, making hundreds of short stops to address crowds, often from the train, which came to be known as whistlestops. He came off as genuine and passionate while Dewey continued to be seen as an elitist. Though much of his campaign focused on Congress, Truman also unleashed a vicious attack on his opponent, insulting him and criticizing him for skirting certain issues. Dewey's camp did not counter the attacks.

Because the pollsters had already closed up shop, a late surge for Truman went undetected, and on the night of the election, the Chicago Tribune famously reported that Dewey won. Instead, Truman triumphed in what many historians consider the greatest upset in presidential history. His win ignited the hopes of candidates who are down in the polls — and has kept pollsters surveying through Election Day.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952

For many in 1952, it was easy to like Ike. On the heels of the Winter of Discontent and mired in the Korean War, people across the country joined in a grassroots “Draft Eisenhower” effort just to get the popular war hero to run for president. That movement, along with an in novative TV campaign and, of course, a memorable campaign slogan, led Eisenhower to a landslide in the polls.

Once Eisenhower declared his candidacy, the grassroots movement was at his disposal. “Bandwagons” from one organization crisscrossed the country to gather support, while women — targeted as a demographic for the first time — called voters, handed out materials and threw parties. And the grassroots slogan/song “I like Ike” was an enormous hit, packaging Eisenhower in what Time magazine called "one of the slickest, most memorable political advertising campaigns in U.S. history.”

Eisenhower was the first presidential candidate to use TV spot ads. In an era of hour-long advertisements, the campaign saved money and reached more viewers by airing memorable, 20-second ads in between popular programs. Known as “Eisenhower Answers America,” the successful spots showed the presidential hopeful responding to questions from “everyday citizens” about government corruption, the high cost of living and the Korean War — voters’ biggest concerns, according to polls.

Eisenhower’s groundbreaking campaign brought him a blowout win in the Electoral College. It also made a lasting mark on future elections, providing candidates with new strategies in marketing and TV advertising that are still discussed in political war rooms every time a campaign is launched.

Ronald Reagan, 1980

Facing skepticism and down in the polls even as he ran against struggling incumbent Jimmy Carter, the Gipper had his work cut out for him. Down by as much as 25 points in early polls, Reagan used charisma and a platform that reached across party lines to come back and ulimately win in a landslide victory and punch his ticket to Washington.

Over the course of his campaign, Reagan’s views on government, promises to balance the budget and proposed tax cuts appealed to a generation becoming more conservative with age. He ultimately won over many voters from the left, soon known as Reagan Democrats. By the last month of the campaign, Reagan closed the gap. According to the Washington Post, different polls gave an edge to different candidates, making the race too close to call.

A week before the election, the candidates had their sole debate of the campaign. Reagan came off as charismatic, folksy and in control, diffusing one of Carter’s attacks with his famous line, “There you go again.” In his final remarks, Reagan asked viewers, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” On the heels of the debate, he won the election in a monumental landslide.

Reagan’s rhetoric and charisma turned what could have been a toss-up into a blowout. His ability to sway voters from the other side of the aisle, his last-minute, 18-point surge in the Gallup Poll and subsequent landslide victory continue to tantalize strategists and politicians alike. Campaigns have hoped to replicate his "comeback" as recently as 2008.

Barack Obama, 2008

When Obama and opponent John McCain launched their campaigns, both used social media platforms that had either emerged or become mainstream since the previous election. But only the Obama camp tapped their full potential as the junior senator from Illinois campaigned his way to victory in a way no one had before.

The Obama campaign connected with voters through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and text messages, creating a continuous Internet conversation with young voters and others. Attracting online followers, he built a grassroots machine that encouraged donations, united supporters, mobilized young voters and deputized everyday people as campaign workers.

Obama's team aired its official ads online, making them available for viewing and sharing. “The campaign’s official stuff they created for YouTube was watched for 14.5 million hours,” political consultant Joe Trippi told the New York Times. Making it easy to donate online, the campaign also raised a staggering $500 million through the Internet, most of it through small donations.

Obama’s slogans of “Change” and “Yes We Can” were also a huge success, but it was his ability to spread his message, brand and grassroots following in an unprecedented way that defined his campaign. Like many of the great efforts before it, the Obama camp changed the landscape of political campaigning and the public’s expectation of how candidates will communicate their message to them.

Justin Ritter is a freelance journalist from Springville, Utah. He has reported on municipal and statewide elections and assisted in producing KBYU-TV's 2010 Election Special Report.

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