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    "title": "WHSF: Returned, 52-41",
    "description": "This file contains:\n\nNote to set up \"Basic Campaign File.\" 1 pg. [Memo], n.d.\n\nResearch File article, The Effects of Professsional Campaign Management in California Politics, written by a junior at UC Santa Barbara. 2 pgs. Attached to previous. [Report], 6/1/1960",
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    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/1276/26127626/content/presidential-libraries/nixon/RN-RET/3599958/WHSF_Box_52/WHSF52-41.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "Richard Nixon Presidential Library\nWhite House Special Files Collection\nFolder List\nBox Number Folder Number Document Date Document Type\nDocument Description\n52\n41\nn.d.\nMemo\nNote to set up \"Basic Campaign File.\" 1 pg.\n52\n41\n06/1960\nReport\nResearch File article, The Effects of\nProfessional Campaign Management in\nCalifornia Politics, written by a junior at UC\nSanta Barbara. 2 pgs. Attached to previous.\nMonday, June 25, 2007\nPage 1 of 1\nSeat up\n\"Basic Campaign\nManagementFile\"\nof put this in\nBOB HALDEMAN\nResearch File\nan exclusive monthly feature\nespecially prepared for MAC by\nFACTS CONSOLIDATED\nJune, 1960\nWith campaign fever upon us, in this edition of Research File we\npresent with pleasure a condensation of a term paper written by\na junior at the University of California at Santa Barbara. We find\nthe topic timely. The author, Linda Mary Ross, is well qualified as\nthe result of her extensive research on the subject and because she\nis the daughter of William Ross, of Baus & Ross, one of the\nlargest professional campaign management firms in the state.\nTHE EFFECTS OF PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN\nMANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA POLITICS\nIn the modern world of specialization, the art of politics has become specialized,\ntoo. The amateur is quickly fading from the picture.\nWHAT IS A CAMPAIGN?\nWhy is this? What has happened to politics? The answer to these questions lies in the\nanswer to this question, \"Just what is a political campaign?\"\nTo Kyle Palmer, political editor of the Los Angeles Times, it is press releases, - \"two-\nthirds of which we throw out.\" To radio, a campaign is spot announcements; to tele-\nvision, it is a telethon. To the public, it is a candidate's speech, a billboard, or a\nbumper-sticker.\nTo Dorothy Corey, President of Facts Consolidated (a market research firm), a political\ncampaign is a matter of dollars and cents, and how well they are spent. \"A statewide\ncampaign costs a minimum of $600,000. And no business of any kind would let an amateur\nloose with that kind of money\nHow do the professional campaign managers describe a campaign? Whitaker & Baxter of San\nFrancisco and Baus & Ross of Los Angeles are the two biggest campaign management firms in\nCalifornia. They have made a career of handling candidates running for public office and\ngetting ballot issues passed or defeated in local and state elections.\nWhitaker & Baxter have written books and magazine articles about it. \"Our strategy con-\nsists of mapping out the opposition at the same time we plan the offense. My\npartner works out the opposition's strategy at the same time that I work out our cam-\npaign. With this type of work, we know every move that the opposition will make, plus\npointing out the loopholes in the offense,\" says Mr. Whitaker.\nBaus & Ross have the answers boiled down to 8 fundamentals of a campaign. They are: (1)\nplan a winning campaign strategy, (2) set up thorough organization and field work, (3)\narrange an effective endorsement drive, (4) conduct an intensive publicity campaign, in-\ncluding press, television and radio, (5) handle direct mail and pamphlet distribution,\n(6) organize a speakers' bureau, including registration of speakers and scheduling of\nengagements, (7) conduct hard-hitting advertising promotion, (8) counsel and assist in\nfund-raising. Few amateurs, if any, would claim to be skilled in more than one of these\nareas.\nVOLUNTEERS VS. PROFESSIONALS\nDo most people agree that you need a professional manager if you want to win a campaign?\nThe general consensus is that pros are essential for a successful campaign. Paul\nZiffren, Democratic National Committeeman for California, pointed out that \"In a cam-\npaign, your volunteer workers are looking for recognition- perhaps an appointment to\nthe National Convention. On the other hand, pros concentrate on just doing a good job.\nThey don't think in terms of 'how can we please?' but 'how can we elect?'\"\nDorothy Corey refutes the common argument that the volunteer organizations attached to\neach party are sufficient to handle campaigns. \"Those who can see the inside workings\nof politics heartily disagree with this tenet. Professionals are expensive, but they\n(over)\nResearch File\n(continued)\nknow how to use the money effectively. And the dollar value must be considered.\" Her\nfirm does much of the research and public opinion polls which campaign managers often\nuse to set their strategy.\nWhen a political group such as Baus & Ross or Whitaker & Baxter wants a survey con-\nducted, their objective is to find out what the current trends are. They want to know\nwhat people are thinking, what is unbelievable and what isn't and why people believe the\nway they do. But it takes more than polls to win an election. Instinct seems to play\nits part, too.\nMr. Whitaker stated that if you have a good background in economics and in contemporary\nphilosophies, then you know what is in the public mind and you know how to appeal to it.\nHe uses polls as a \"check\". You find out if the issues you have chosen for your campaign\nare good or not.\nWhitaker emphasized that there is no substitute for knowledge. He says, \"Politics is\nlike the natural sciences—there are no surprises if you have an understanding of people\nand organizations.\"\nCONTINUOUS SURVEYS\nMr. Ross emphasized the importance of conducting continuous surveys. His campaign\nagainst the McLain Pension Program (which would raise old-age pensions) illustrates\nthis. The pro-pension people used the effective slogan \"Honor thy Father and thy Mother\"\nin contrast to the negative side's slogan \"Don't Pay Higher Taxes\". \"During the middle\nof the campaign,' says Ross, \"we conducted another survey which showed that we were\nlosing heavily and showed why we were losing.\"\nThe new poll revealed that people thought old folks were entitled to more pensions. It\nalso showed that Baus & Ross were not using their strongest argument which was this: Not\nonly was California's pension already higher than the other states, but the raise in\npensions would attract all the old people from the other states who would come West to\nretire on California's tab.\nOn the basis of this argument, they changed all the radio and television spot announce-\nments, direct mail contents and billboards just 3 weeks before the election, harping on\nthe new theme, \"Don't Pay Taxes for the Other Forty-Eight States\". And they won.\nIt seems that those who have a large stake in politics are not willing to leave their\ninterests to chance or put them in an amateur's hands. Vice-president Nixon, Ex-Governor\nKnight, Senator Clair Engle and Governor Brown all hired professional managers. Senator\nKnowland didn't, and he suffered a resounding defeat in 1958.\nThe parties use professional managers, too, the Republicans more SO than the Democrats.\n\"But,\" says Mr. Ziffren, \"it is better to use professionals. We are trying to develop\nprofessional managers within the party.\"\nLooking at the record, most readers would agree that professional managers are compe-\ntent. Whitaker & Baxter claim 74 victories out of 80 campaigns over a 26-year period;\nBaus & Ross, in their 14 years together, have won 44 out of 48 campaigns.\nCAMPAIGNS REFUSED\nIn answer to the charge that pros will take any job if the price is right, Ross said\nthat they have turned down many jobs to avoid hurting their present clients. \"You can't\nwork for opposing interests without jeopardizing one of the clients. When working\nagainst Proposition 16 (which would tax nonprofit and parochial schools), we turned down\n3 public school bond campaigns. Instead, we worked for free on these. It's not that we\nwere against schools; it's just not in your client's interests to work both sides of the\nstreet. Because of this, we turn down many more campaigns than we accept.\"\nDorothy Corey threw her support behind professional tactics when she declared: \"The\nmethods of advertising are used because there are SO many diversions in the modern world\nthat it takes a catching slogan to divert the average person's attention to political\nissues or candidates.\n\"The effects of professional campaign management are good; it makes a great deal more\ninformation available. A public relations expert might be compared to a lobbyist: a\nproblem is studied from every point of view and then boiled down to language understand-\nable to the layman.\"\nPage Thirty-Eight"
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