A new era of presidential communication
(CNN) -- When President Bush gives his State of the Union address this Wednesday evening, more than 30 million people in the United States alone may be watching.
But while the speech -- his fourth such address -- will be important, especially in terms of shaping public opinion on the looming Social Security debate, the reality is that the president will rely much less upon the State of the Union and other such "major speeches" as a driving factor in shaping public opinion than most recent presidents.
Indeed while most television age presidents from LBJ (civil rights) to Bill Clinton (welfare reform) have used big events like the State of the Union or even special prime time national television addresses to rally public opinion in support of their policy aims, the Bush White House in 2005 has begun redefining the art of political communication.
First, to ensure that his message reaches the maximum audience with as little filter as possible, the White House has begun aggressively supplementing the president's major addresses (Inaugural speech and now the State of the Union) with dozens of interviews on television and in print (CNN, ABC, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, etc.).
These interviews have helped to reinforce his messages and bolster his credibility surrounding the major speeches. In a major departure from recent political traditions, the Bush White House has also enlisted the Republican National Committee as a key component of its legislative communications strategy.
Indeed, while the RNC and the DNC have typically focused primarily on political campaigns, the Bush White House has begun to use the new RNC in the policy realm as well. In particular, the RNC, led by former Bush presidential campaign manager Ken Mehlman, is now using campaign techniques to support the president's drive to change Social Security, immigration, education and other key policies.
For example, the RNC has begun emailing millions of voters each month, using its huge database of addresses amassed from the re-election campaign to rally support for the president's legislative agenda, especially in states with seemingly recalcitrant senators, like Florida, Nebraska, and North Dakota. This is a far cry from slower (and smaller) letter writing and phone calling campaigns that previous administrations used to try to influence hesitant congressmen.
The RNC is also helping the White House communications effort by focusing not only on national press interviews, but local press interviews as well.
The RNC has spearheaded and coordinated scores of interviews with congressional and Cabinet surrogates and regional and local media outlets in key states. The interviews not only give broader exposure to President Bush's agenda and policy initiatives in general, but can also be customized to appeal to the geographic and demographic specifics of those areas.
Finally, in addition to the supplementary presidential and surrogate interviews and e-mails, the RNC and other supporters of the White House are likely to spend tens of millions of dollars this year on policy ads to try to increase voter and ultimately congressional support for the president's major policy proposals.
Indeed while the Clinton health care fight in 1994 drew some television political advertising (less than $30 million dollars worth), for the first time in history more than $100 million dollars may be spent on media ads to support and oppose major congressional policy initiatives during a non-election year.
The sheer quantity of ads in this year's legislative fight over Social Security, tort and tax reform will likely make some voters in key states feel like they back in the 2004 election season. So while there will be much focus on the one-hour State of the Union address Wednesday night -- and while the president will almost certainly try to offer a memorable line or catch phrase to help reframe the Social Security debate, further flesh out his vision of an opportunity society and highlight the success of the Iraqi election, the reality is that much of the important political action will be happening in the days surrounding Wednesday night's speech.
Moreover, if in the long term this new supplementary strategy works, the Bush White House may have ushered in a significant new era in presidential communication.
