A Democratic Strategist – A Republican Strategist?

It seems that you can’t turn on the TV these days without a news talk or political opinion show bringing on a strategist. These folks happily tell us what they think will happen, argue with the other side, or among themselves on the same side of the political spectrum. Since there seem to be so many of these strategists on TV these days, I have begun wondering about them. Where did they come from? Who are they?

Does one go to school to become a strategist? Is there a major in political strategy at some university, maybe so? What qualifications would I need to be hired as a strategist? I probably need to be able to talk, preferably English, know who is running for office, and in my case, as a guy, own a nice suit. Have you ever wondered how you get a job as a strategist? I looked on Career Builder and searched democrat strategist, republican strategist, and political strategist nationwide for the last thirty days. I found absolutely no opportunities listed. Maybe there is an underground newspaper with classified listings for “Wanted Republican Strategist”.

Have you ever noticed that a preponderance of strategists are young folks and more than half are women? It looks like a great gig – show up on a TV set, make some comments, argue a little, get paid and go home. There appears to be no right or wrong and no accountability. Who hires these folks other than TV shows? If campaigns hire them, how many strategists are needed – how many cooks are needed to make the porridge? Does the campaign have a bullpen and whenever a question comes up someone queries the bullpen on direction and strategy? Does each strategist in the bullpen do a thumb up or a thumb down? Perhaps these folks have run campaigns as campaign managers; again how do you train for that job?

Okay! So now I have run a campaign, I declare myself a strategist, and I get hired by Fox or CNN or some other network. What next? Do I do this strategist gig every day of the year or only when elections are in play? No wonder the Presidential election campaign has been extended, these people need work! What happens between campaign cycles? Do these folks do pizza delivery until the next election?

This sounds like the best job in the world, especially if it pays: Go to work, work 5 minute segments a day, make picks, predict what is invariably wrong, have no accountability, and maybe make good money. Somebody please hire me as a strategist – PLEASE!