John F. Kennedy went to bed at 3:30 in the morning on November 9, 1960, uncertain whether he had defeated Richard Nixon for the presidency. He thought he had won, but six states hung in the balance, and after months of exhaustive campaigning, he was too tired to stay awake any longer.
I understand why the Tories will be gunning for Alastair Campbell because they fear his campaigning skills.
I probably enjoy campaigning more than most other people in public office because I like people and I enjoy going out there and telling people what I’ve done.
While campaigning, I got to know many high-school teachers, and let me say that the good ones are the unsung heroes of our society, and the bad ones are the gravediggers.
The truth is, the ‘Fortune’ 500 prefer lobbying to campaigning.
I stand alongside everyone campaigning for better pay and conditions – they are paving the way for a fairer society.
In our case, I, a working engineer, inventor and scientist, am bringing new innovation to campaigning to enable a grass-roots movement.
Whether it is sensitising people to social issues, campaigning for causes or being part of fund-raisers, celebrities can go a long way in reaching out to people.
Whether it’s running for president or trying to win an Oscar, campaigning is a must and relationships are a big part of that. It’s about who you know to rally behind you.
I step out for campaigning only after I complete my pooja at home, which is something I do every day.
For much of my career I had no authentic political voice. I had been campaigning all over the country not to change the world or shake up my audiences but to please the roomful of people to whom I was speaking… As a result, my words rarely had the ring of truth to the nonpolitical observer.
My earliest memory campaigning was going to the dump to get petition signatures or handing out literature.
So many people are campaigning, fighting, and even dying to make a statement in the name of humanity. These people have no voice that can be heard by many. I wish more celebrities would take the initiative to be that voice.
In this way, there is a strange alchemy to modern campaigning: a candidate must highlight the urgency of the choice facing voters and suggest the possibility – but not probability – of defeat.
In fact, when I fought the 1996 election, being Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter, it has its own plus and minus, so I told my father, ‘please don’t come for campaigning with me’.
Pages: 1 2
