I sat down with Michael Levine, founder of the public relations firm Levine Communications, to get some PR advice for the 2008 elections. Hollywood stars balance fame and fortune but not without the help of good pr that can cover up bad press and promote a star’s best qualities. The world of Hollywood glam and appeal seems to heavily mirror that of the modern political campaign: advertisement and a candidate’s character have a large impact on electability.

On the current Democratic nomination race, Levine doesn’t think the race is dragging on too long perhaps because he knows things can change at any minute in such a volatile industry. The Democrats have time to recover before November as long as there are no major incidents such as the recent Reverend Wright factor. Levine does note that an important factor in the elections will be experience which McCain and Clinton rely heavily on to boost support.

But from an outside public relations perspective he believes the experience factor will actually favor Senator Barack Obama and not the others.

Levine points to the currently dismal ratings of the Bush Administration to show that the current mindset of many Americans is that the “gang with experience can’t do anything right.” A lack of experience may actually help Obama because experience now means “corrupt, lazy, and stupid.”

It may be quite disheartening to hear these words from a major Los Angeles exec who is actually quite fond of politics, but he may be touching on the key reason that a relatively young and inexperienced candidate is putting up a close fight against the long standing Clintons.

In turning to the Republican nominee John McCain, Levine notes his large disadvantage will be age. Many have already pointed to the 72-year old Republican Senator’s age as an issue in the general election campaign while McCain fires back that it proves his experience. But if experience is a negative than McCain is going to need to select a vice president who is not only young but also appeals to the young voters that rally behind Obama.

The next few months will be critical not only in determining the Democrat Party’s presidential nomination but also in preparing for the general elections. PR will be important for both sides as the candidates try to exaggerate qualifications and refute opponents’ criticisms. Perhaps the campaigns will look at strategies of successful PR executives like Michael Levine to learn how best to promote the candidates’ best assets and hide flaws, something Hollywood has been doing for years.

Photo by marcn via Flickr

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