Expect political campaigns to be well funded and well composed by professional persuaders using sophisticated new techniques and technology.

Candidates don't start from zero, thinking up ideas by themselves on the night before a speech. They hire PR companies ("Political Consultants") with experienced people using the same kind of techniques as advertising agencies do for commercial products. For current information and examples, browse here:

Campaigns & Elections (Weekly Magazine for Professional Political Consultants)

The :30 Second Candidate (PBS - Look Inside the World of Political Advertising)

PR Watch | | FAIR's Media Activist Kit

Articles about Political Consultants | | google.com on "Political Consultants"

Duh? Who doesn't know that?

Lots of kids, lots of people.

TelePrompters, for example, have been with us for over a generation, but many people think that the transparent glass in front of the President (or other leaders) is a "bulletproof shield" for protection.

Not so. It's a one-way glass device, visible only to the speaker, with the words of the script rolling on 2 or 3 surrounding screens, so the person speaking can glance around to give the illusion of speaking articulately, spontaneously, and "from the heart." Duh!