U.S. Spinmeisters Gear Up For Big Election ... Britain's Election
In 2000, Jeff Shesol was nearing the end of his stint as a White House speechwriter for President Clinton. He went to the Democratic convention in Los Angeles, where he met a young staffer from Britain's Labour party. They struck up a friendship.
"And so almost immediately after the Clinton administration had ended, I got a call to come over and begin writing speeches," Shesol says. "Before long, Labour was in the throes of its campaign, and I was stationed there along with them."
The young staffer who brought Shesol to England 14 years ago was named Ed Miliband. Today he's head of the party, likely to become prime minister if his party, currently the opposition, wins next year's elections.
The U.S. and Great Britain often talk about the "special relationship" that exists between the two countries. That extends to political campaigns, where there is a long tradition of American consultants going to work for British candidates.
Miliband has now brought on a more recent White House veteran, Obama campaign mastermind David Axelrod, to help with next year's campaign. Shesol says it's not surprising. Politicians around the world see Obama's presidential campaigns as case studies in how to win.
"Did President Obama win because of the brilliance of his advisers, or did he win primarily because of his brilliance as a candidate? It's of course some combination of the two," says Shesol. "But you can't hire President Obama.
So politicians do the next best thing and hire his right-hand man.
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