in importance. If you recall the 1992 election in which Bill Clinton ran against an incumbent George Bush, priming played a major role. Bush had been a popular president especially when it came to his role in the Persian Gulf War. His ratings were high throughout his presidency. When Clinton threw his hat into the ring, he began his campaign by successfully shifting the arena back to domestic affairs. One of his campaign slogans was, "It's the Economy Stupid." This made Americans start evaluating Bush on his domestic stance. The economy had not been where most Americans wanted it and as a result Clinton was elected president. With the media playing such a pinnacle role in politics, it is no wonder that Presidents allocate so much of their time and resources in that direction. All presidents set up an office of press secretary. This person is a direct liaison between the media and the president. As such, the press secretary needs to be looked at as an honorable person with direct access to the president. In addition, presidents do what they can to have the press cover humanity stories, i.e. baby kissing. Just after the Monica Lewinsky scandal, in order to appear in a more favorable light, Clinton took a romantic weekend with his wife and made sure not to keep this a secret.While the President does what he can to lead the media in a more favorable direction, he is less successful at taking the helm as the press is. Nine times out of ten, when a story hits the headlines, it results in a presidential response to a media decision and not the other way around. Clinton has always been an advocate of stricter gun control laws, but not until the Columbine High School incident in Colorado was he even slightly effective at directing public opinion on the matter. However, when an issue is of substantial importance to the president, he does have a tool in which to attempt to build salience. He can "go public." This is when the pr...
