Permanent Campaign

Howard Kurtz coins a new phrase to describe the current political climate: The Permanent Campaign. I alluded to it in my post about Howard Dean's ascension to DNC chairman, namely that the RNC research team will be working harder in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. It wasn't always this way. But with the full-throttle presidential campaign lasting for well over a year now (as opposed the span of time after the last primary at which point it became clear who each party would nominate as their nominee to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) and jockeying for the 2008 campaign already underway (look for Senators Frist, Santorum, and Brownback to run...if not more), we truly are living in the era of the permanent campaign. No sooner do you clean up the mess made by the revlers at your victory party in early November than you begin sending out letters to supporters thanking them for their support and then asking for more support (=cash) as he begins to focus on the next round. It's not healthy but it's reality.