America's 'New' Permanent Campaigns

This is the era of the "new" permanent campaign, says author and pollster Michael D. Cohen. The idea comes from a term coined by Jimmy Carter's pollster (and later Trump whisperer) Pat Caddell. Weeks after helping guide Carter to victory in the 1976 presidential election, Caddell drafted a memorandum to the president-elect on the subject of how to govern once in the White House. He advised Carter that "governing with public approval requires a continuing campaign." This meant giving off the kinds of signals that voters expected from the one-term Georgia Governor, using television and radio to convey what the president was doing while staying ahead of the news cycle and always making his case for the next election. Carter approved of Caddell's advice, writing "Excellent" on the memo's cover page.