Issue 465 Political campaigns: Presidents on the campaign trail November 19, 2014

We looked at why some candidates would want the president to come down and help them succeed, but we have not looked into what a president gets out of this deal.  So let's discuss.

What a President wants:  Basically, the President wants power and authority.  He goes on campaign trails to aid in winning seats in the legislative arm of government that will give him the bills he wants to pass as laws based on the same ideology.  A President does not like compromise, for they want instead a legacy of success.  So a President will as I said try to help candidates win who share the same ideology as him/herself.  

When do they go:  Typically, a President does not just go and help out party members on a whim especially if the candidate they want to win is already winning.  But instead they go for several reasons. 

1) One is to curry favor to get some politicians to owe the President something.  Basically, you scratch my back, then I'll scratch yours later.  

2) The next reason is too sure up victories so that they maintain party leadership (usually the same party as the President) in the legislative branch of government or else they become a lame duck President.  

3) Presidents also go on the campaign trail to boost their popularity as interacting with the public show that the president is paying attention to them.  

4) If the president's popularity is fading and they become toxic, the campaign trail acts as a distraction from regular decision making which serves to shield the President for a short period of time while a strategy is worked out.  (Though some candidates may reject the President's offer of help unless they are in desperate straits or in a district where the President is still popular despite national opinion).

And there you have it.  It is all about power and getting favors from one another.

Conclusion:  I personally think the President should not bother with the campaign trail unless they have too.  But this is real politic we are talking about.  Where gaining and maintaining power is all there is to life.  A President can only do so much on their own and needs the other branches of government on his/her side.  And thus you have the President waving their hands, making speeches and kissing babies.  It is not whether they care about us or not, but about them getting and keeping power an influence so that they can show they care whether that is for good or for worse.