>> commerce, education, and the -- what's the third one there? oops. >> tonht we take you behind the scenes. >> see if they can do this flash. >> we'll show you what they don't like to talk about. >> so lying is okay in politics? >> what's behind winning the presidency? ♪ >> when it to s winning the presidency, i'd like to think that the choices about whose ideas are better, but when you talk to people behind the scenes they talk about moments. >> there are a series of monts. that's what maers. >> remember the scream? howard dean led john kerry in early polls, but then after a loss he tried to rally the troops. >> we're going to california, and texas, and new york! >> the room was noisy. and people in the room said, this sounded like a normal rally. >> and then we'reoing to washington, d.c. to take back the white house! yay! >> but because dean's microphone picked up only dean's voice, the tv broadcast made him sound crazy. >> yay! >> that unfairly may have killed his campaign. even images can matter more than issues. this video is id to have hurt john kerry. this is said to have helped bill clinton. bill clinton. in the 1980 republican primary george bush had moment against ronald reagan, until in the debate in new hampshire, there was a moment where reagan looked strong. >> i am paying for this microphone. >> that moment helped change the campaign. >> some o some of them you can . >> read my lips. no newaxes. >> the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull, lipstick. >> other ones, you got to depend on your ndidate seizing a moment you didn't expect to happen. >> there you go again. >> most moments so far this election have been poorly phrased comments. >> if you've got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. >> i like bng able to fire people that provide services to me. >> they'll put y'all back in chains. >> the media call those gaffes, but often the media don't know. when ed musky lost the '072 primary because he looked like he teared up defending his wife, everyone said candidates can't career, because that's week, but then in 2008 hillary clinton cried. >> you know, i have so many opportunities from this country. >> she began to tear up. >> don't want to fall backwards. >> she showebeing human. >> you know, this is very personal for me. >> pundits pounced. >> people perceive that as weakness. >> yeah, i think they will and they should. >> makes her look like her campaign is in trouble. >> the day before showed clinton 10 points behind. the next day, she beat obama in the new hampshire primary.y. >> the kind of comeback that new hampshire has just given m >> she tears up and that moves 11 points in one day. >> she showed real authenticity, and i think voters were very much attracted to that. >> authenticity is rare in politics, and in presidential campaigns the consultants strive to control everything. >> this is all fear. >>emocratic bob beckel has counseled hundreds of candidates. >> it's theatre of politics, trying to get the people to come in and take a look and see if theyike your play. >> here in cleveland, the romney campaign's preparing play, trying to get lots of people to watch. >> only way to attract them to the theatre is if it looks good. >> tighten that out a little bit. >> just one presidential campaign, in the fall, in the generaelection, involves 400 people, advance people, setting up a stage. >> mike check. 1-2. >> a presidential campaign stop involves a lot of hard work. >> most are paid to do this. some are volunteers. >> does anybody have any questions? >> the planning starts days earlier. >> you send people driving around small towns in america, and asking people, hey, can we us your -- can we use your campus green? >> mel ritter is the director of candidate operations for mitt romney. >> let's get to work. >> campaign staffs try to make sure the right number of people show up. hillary clinton's presidential campaign was run by patty solis-doyle. >> you make calls to camign supporters, make robocalls. >> they eventies advertise in the sky. >> ready for the message, then e mittromney.com/ticket. >> the football stadium seats about 80,000 people. only problem,omney had 8,000 in the crowd. >> it's ritter's job t make that doesn't happen. >> six really talented advance people on thground for five days. >> we're painting part of the backdrop that you see from the riser. finish that late in the night. >> campaigns obsess about every sign, every camera angle. >> you have to see the cpaigns through the lens of a camera. if you can't do that, it gets left on field. >> we'll take cameras in there, set them up on our risers that we set for the press, look at it, make sure the angles are right. >> behind that group of people is romney/ryan. >> signs are always in the perfect position for the television cameras or ill photographers to pick them up. >> because of how cameras work, we have something here like 40, 50-foot banners cover buildings and get in a tight shot. >> it's the first thi he walks past that people say as he makes the pivot toward the stage. >> what difference does it make? >> visuals matter so much. campaigns come down to photography. campaigns need light and sound. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next president of the united states! >> keep it up, keep it up. >> now kill it, kill it. >> if we fail, the message stays here with 2,000 or 3,000 people in cleveland, ohio. the goal is to make sure it translates to as many folks as possible. >> ritter monitors the events as they happen. >> hey, wl, you'reive on all the cables. can i get more hand signs to that crowd behind the gov? >> setting up one event may take weeks and yet -- >> it may last ten minutes. >> then they do it again. 1:00, 2:00 in the morning, we'll dot again. it heads to the next truck and it heads to the next site. >> do you ever sleep or smell bad? >> we went three days with no sleep, no showers. >> alws with the fear that one simple mistake, even a poorly chosen image can destroy a campaign. ask michael did you cactus. >diddukakis.>> he didn't want ta helmet. he understood that that was wasn't going to be a distinguish televion shot. >> consultant steve murphy worked with dukakis. >> the answer came back, we've arranged for you to ride in a nk, theyon't let you ride in a tank without a helmet because it's unsafe. he relented. he should have stuck with his instincts. >> that moment turned into this commercial. >> now he wants to be our commander in chief. america can't afford that risk. >> do ads like that really work? the consultants think they do. >>three, four, five -- >> they still rave about this ad. it ran only once, but was talked out so much on tv, they say it changed all campaigns. it was the first negative ad to use fear and raw emotion. >> 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [explosion] >> tse are the stakes. we must either love each other or we must die. >> vote or die. pretty relevant. >> but pretty unfair, a smear on goldwater. >> oh, jeez. >> medicare mckinnon worked on the bush campaign which ran this ad showing the candidates consoling 9/11 victims. >> our president took ashley in his arms and just embraced her, and it was at that moment that we saw ashley's eyes fill up with tears. >> come on,his is the presidency. you're playing this music and we're supposed to vote for this guy because s tears up. >> that's exactly what they did. this ad aired in ohio in late 2004. it was absolutely pivotal. >> it's morning again in america. today more men and women will go to work than ever before in our country's history. >> beckel worked for reagan's opponent at the time. >> i see this ad come on on the television. it's a farmer and son in a beautiful pasture. they put their hands over their hearts. i stood up and put my hand over my heart. the tagline is, re-elect rold reagan. i said, are you kidding me that? that is blatant, blatant and good. you may think it's corny, but let's face it, you think everything's corny, okay, but if you can get an image like that it really matters. >> ed rollins was reagan's campaign manag. >> two kinds of monitoring you make i a campan. one is an intellectual argument and one is an emotional argument. >> when beckle ran mondale's campaign, he saw this ad. >> where's the beef? >> wendy's was trying to convince people their hamburgers had more beef. >> where's the beef? >> you were home watching tv with your girlfriend and saw this ad. >> yeah. i saw the ad. my girlfriend saido me, that reminds me of gary hart. what's he all about? all of a sudden, it clicked. >> this is not polling, just a comment from a girlfend. >> that's right. >> you probably liked her too much. >> no, no. didn't actually. that triggered in my mind something that made some sense, we cou put on the next poll. we put it on a poll, it tested well. >> so mondale used it in a debate. >> where's the beef? >> wendy's spent a hundred millions dollars on an a campaign to ge me an opening for a line. i want to thank them ry much. >> that made a difference? >> it changed the race overnight. it confirmed in people's minds something that had been on their minds, which was is this guy really up to it? does he have the experience to do it? and hart, who had been on such an offensive all of a sudden has to be on the defensive, and he doesn't handle it very well. >> there were several things that hardidn't handle well, but that's another story. >> he was reeling. we came right back in with another punch, which was the red phone. >> the most awesome, powerful responsibilityn the world lies in the hand that picks up this phone. >> again, they used emotion to sell the idea that gary hart was style, not substance. >> vote as if the future of the world is at stake. >> decades later -- >> it's 3:00 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep, but there's a phone in the white house and it's ringing. >> hillary clinton's consultants used the same theme to attack barack obama. >> who do you want answering the phone? >> in this case it was barack obama, because he answered the red phone at 3:00 in the morning. said, gary heart answered the red phone at 2:00 in the morning. did they steal it from us? absolutely. >> today's ads are more likely to be direct attacks. >> barack obama, what a disappointment. >> americans say w don't like these attacks, but they do work. in the swing states, they now run all the time. >> if you're sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me so am i. >> i'marack obama. >> i'm mitt romney. >> a proved this message. however most of you won't see those messages. you've beenxcluded. you've beenxcluded. these fellas used capital one venture miles for a golf getaway. double miles you can actually use... but mr. single miles can't join his friends because he's getting hit with blackouts. shame on you. now he's stuck in a miniature nightmare. oh, thank you. but, with e capital one venture card... you can fly any airline, any flight, any time. double miles you can actually use. what's in your wallet? alec jr? it was a gift. >> political parties spend millions trying to persuade you to vote for their candidate, but there's more to it than just convincing you. first they obsess about whether u are worth convincing. >> the whole art of politics in presidential blocks particularly is to target those people who are with you at the beginning and leave them alone until you need to get them to vote. target those who are going to be against you and don't stir them up, and focus everything you can on those who are persuadable. >> that may be 10% of the people, 20%? >> yeah. used to be 20%. this year partilarly it's down to 1. the art of finding that 10% is key to all this. >> no one did that better than karl rov he pioneered what he called microtargeting. that was credited with winning the 2004 election. he compiled reams of information out people. >> if they own a gun, what magazinethey read, what car they own. >> we had a microtargeted voter file in which we had up 225 pieces of household level information about them. we knew what kind of car they had. >> republicans today most often drive ford mustangs, audition, mercedes. democrats are more likely to own a honda civic hybrid, volvo, or nissan leaf. they watch tv shows, conservatives like "dancing with the stars" and modern family. >> you won't have to pay taxes for the rest of your life. >> liberals are more likely to watch "law and order" or "30 rock." >> tonig tgf will not be the worst thing on television. it will be john stossel. who's with me? >> yeah, not surprised that lirals watch that. >> what difference does that make? >> it tells you things like if you want to reach an indepdent swing woman voter, buy the house and garden channel. if you want to reach a republican-leaning but less likely to vote independent swing man, go buy the golf channel. >> rove did research on blacks who might vote for bush and found many are christians who watch these tv preachers. >> now in the name of jesus, i command this debt out of my life. >> so rove placed advertisements there. >> in ohio, in 2000, bush got 2% of the african american vote. in 2004, he got 16%. we were able to identify a group of african arican voters who, though, their history was overwhelming democrat, we had clues that gave us a sense they might be reachable. >> this year consultants want to reach not just swing voters, but swing voters in these 10 states. >> you take a map of the united states, and you just cross out states. just cross them out. say wean't win here. >> the rest of us, most of us, don't really cnt. we live in the wrong state. i live in new york. my state's electoral votes will go to obama, no doubt. doesn't matter what i do. or if all new york swing voters shift their vote. if you live in texas, same deal. doesn't matter who youote for. texas will go to romney. >> why campaign in the other states? >> we don't. why waste our time? >> they do go there, but just to raise money from rich people. otherwise the consultants ignore 40 of 50 states. >> this is not about a national campaign. it's about persuadable voters in a few states. that's what matter >> tod today campaign managers copied rove's strategy. first step, identify your key voters, and then get them to vote. >> your only priority today is getting people to vote. >> they call it got tv. >> have you had a chance to vote yet? >> hundreds and hundreds of volunteers to knock on their door, you have to call them and remind them today is caucus day, today is voting day, call them once, call them twice. >> i'm calling toemind you today is election day. >> you call the again? >> sure. you make sure they know where their polling place is. >> it boils down t this one day. you have to make sure your voters get out. >> hi. my name is annie. >> t today the pne system's automated, a volunteer presses a button, a phone automically dials the likely supporter, and her name pops up alo with a script. >>ave you had a chance to vote yet? >> the campaign called tse people months before. >> this is a close race. we appreciate you voting. >> the computer kept track of who said they'd vote for their candidate. then on election day you call them again to make sure they did. >> you did? well, wonderful. thank you, mrs. casey. >> if you suspect thehey might t vote -- >> show up with a bus, a personal car? >> sure. >> people don't just vote anymore, you pick them up and take them there. >> yeah. it's an art form. ♪ [ male announcer ] how you turn an entrepreneus dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. overmany discounts to thine customers! safe driver, multi-car, paid in fufull- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. thou cometh and we thy savet what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have a of those homeowners' discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kinom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now, that's progressive. @a [laughing] [tires screeching] >> sometimes i feel sorry for presidential candidates. i feel their strain because they have to face us, the media. >> governo romney! >> mr. president! >> look at the candidates smile. >> you also said that you are america's most tactless prince since carter. >> he smiled. they rarely show anger. they just keep smiling and laughing. >> thank you, thank you. >> don't get the impression that you aroused my anger. >> often they don't like the reporters. >> one can only be angry with those he respes. >> iet mitt romney doesn't respect the reporters who followed him when he went to a memorial site. despite the somber nation of the moment, reporters shouted at him? >> do you feel your gaffes have overshadow your campaign? >> the candites smile and repeat the message of the day. reporters feel as conduits for the message. >> their useless is what they can do to carry a message to the voters. outse of that they're useless. >> do you have a message of the day so we simple minded reporters don't g accused by too many messages? >> i would never call you simple-minded, but yes. >> to build that bridge to the 21st century. >> in 1996, bill clinton said, "build a bridge" 22 times. >> to build a bridge to help our parents raise their children. to build that bridge. bridge. bridge. bridge. bridge. >> all right already. i would think a candidate would say to you, you want me to repeat myself that much? i'd look like a more ron. >> they do say that. the really good ones get it and do it. >> yes, you can't. >> you don't want to do, stay home. >> it's ice-cold and tasty. >> we followhem every. >> what you got? > >> groceries. >> mitt romney is followed by sometimes a plane, more often a bus. the pack call it living in a bubble. nicole follows romney around the world. >> thank you, thank you. >> how many cities have you been to? >> i don't know how many cities i've been in. >> lost count? >> i have dolph lost count. it's not uncommon to lose track of time, day, time zone. i do know -- >> wake up, you don't know where you are? >> the room always looks like the same, but the bathroom door is in a different place. >> they video anything that might be interesting. en i was her age, it took four beefy union workers to do what she's doing. >> what do you have with you? >> a camera, all the cables that you need, the microphones, the tripod, and your personal bag. kind of like a satelli truck in a box. >> it's a tough job for reporters and the campaign staff. >> the emotional and physical toll that running a presidential campaign takes on people is enormous. you're working 1hours a day, seven days a week. you've got a candidate on the phone every hour, calling and complaining about someing. you just want to tell them to shut up and get back to work. it also requires hing an understanding wife or you're divorced, you know. in myase, i got divorced. >> if you like vegetables, it's probably not for you. if you like sleep it might not be for you, but it's fascinatin >> the 18-hour days don't seem like 18-hour days. they seem like it happens like that. >> nicole gets just four or five hours of sleep. she's usually up around 5:00 in the morning. by 60 a.m -- >> you have already received probably about three or four emails from the campaign, guessing you an idea of what the messaging will be for the day. >> the pac wants sething new or a mistake. >> i've now been in 57 states. >> so candidates try to stick to the script. >> for an economy that's built to last. >> for an economy that's built to last. that's built to last. >> nicole ss she doesn't mind hearing the same speech again and ain. >> when you know the sech so well in and out, it makes it that much easier to pinpot when there's something new. it's