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per(0naMy9 moiiB
Politics. . . The hectic schedule and heated rhetoric of
the campaign? Fingernail chewing on election night. The
afterglow of victory and hard work of law making or ad
ministration. Scandal. Back-room deals. Altruism in public and hy
pocrisy behind closed doors
A political life is unlike any other career choice facing
a student. The rewards are great-if not in money , then in
public recognition and a place in history. But politics is
such a wildly uncertain career that the rewards may never
come, and even if they do, event ually, the corresponding
sacrifices may have been too great for compensation.
Uncertainty is a key word here. Accident and oppor-
tunity are others.
'There is a great deal of accident involved in a political
career, cautioned John Comer, political science professor. "It may not be luck that ex
plains why you remain where you're at, but it is luck to a certain extent that explains
how you got there.
Most other careers-medicine, law, teaching, engineering, even non-elective
government -provide relatively definite paths to be followed for entry into the field and
eventual success. Not so for a career based on the ballot box.
"There is no specific career preparation for elective politics,' said Robert Sittig,
political science professor. But he offered some beneral, and often borken, rules for
success.
"The voters are most receptive to a 30- to 40-year-old, successful, business or pro
fessional person who has been involved in community-affairs, he said.
Lawyers have the best luck in the political arena, he pointed out. Businessmen next
best, and other professionals next. During this century, the law and business professions
have accounted for not less than 94 per cent of the members of Congress during tany
session. Lawyers have filled about half of the Congressional seats since World War II,
although the profession comprises only a tenth of one per cent of the work force.
These figures from political science studies support the view that law and politics have
"You might be surprised at hoiv
ivell qualified you are compared
with that person (the politician.)
a "professional convergence. In other words, a legal practice easily can be set aside or
scaled down while a lawyer fills a political post. And a few years of public life often help
a legal career when the ex-politician returns to private life.
The dominance of lawyers is more marked at national levels than in state and local
offices. The most frequent occupations in the Nebraska Legislature arebusiness and
agriculture, Sittig pointed out. Such part-time offices as this or city councils attract
people from a wider variety of occupations because they can maintain public and private
careers at the ssras time,
Even so, the local candidate with roots in his or her community, a successful career
in business of another profession and a record of involvement in civic or religious vrgani
zations frequently has a natural edge over candidates in lower social and economic
groups. The Lincoln City Council roster for example, lists an architect, minister, attorney,
pharmacist and three businessmen.
Start small, Lincoln, Mayor Helen Boosalis advised at a recent campus speech which
focused on women in politics. ,
"Get into the party of your choice and work on the local level, she said. Join
campus or community political groups, politically active church groups or the League
of Women Voters.
"Get familiar with the area you're interested in going into," she advised. This includes
attending government meetings and, perhaps taking political science courses. A way to
gauge one's own eligibility for public life is to talk with an experienced politician, she
said.
"You might be surprised at how well qualified you are compared with that person,
she said. "Then again, you might not."
Then, it is best to start by running for a smaller political office, she said, citing her
own 16 years on the city councilbeofre that, she was active in the League of Women
Voters-be fore running for mayor.
A woman's political career will depend on her personaltiy, training and business ex
perience, among other factors, the mayor said.
"It 9s not just circumstance that
the people who wind up in the
senate come quite old "
The same factors are relevant for men in public life and associations with others in
volved in politics, political scientists say.
"You have to know enough people who are 'willing to work for you to build a
volunteer organization,1 Nebraska Democratic Party Chairman Dick White said. "It
means haveing enough money either of your own or through donation to fund the
campaign."
One of the best ways to make the necessary contacts is to do volunteer work in
another campaign, he said.
"Almost everyone I know who is pursuing politics as a full-time career started by
working in someone elses campaign, he said. -
Campaigns need people with writing skills or the time to go out into the community as .
organizers or canvassers, he said. t
"Then, with some luck, if their candidate wins they are very often employed by the
candidate in some governmental job after the election," White pointed out.
Campaigns vary in staff size from a candidate's family and a handful of friends for low
key local offices to the masses of mostly young volunteers which had the title
"McGovern Army' during the 1972 presidential race. Although the foot soldiers for
Sen. George McGovern mostly were getting their first taste of large-scale campaigning,
the leaders were experienced in previous campaigns. Campaign manager Gary Hart went
on to win a U.S. Senate seat two years later.
Former North Platte Mayor Robert Phares, now a candidate for governor, outlined the
problems with mounting a statewide campaign. His first step has been to put together a
small group of trusted friends. From there, it has been a process of first recruiting leaders,
then lower-level workers, in communities across the state. Some are people with whom he
has worked as a volunteer during previous campaigns. Others are Republican Party
activists.
The next step was to hire a professional campaign consultant to test Phares of how
well his candidacy might fare and to do statistical research on past voting patterns in the
state. Now the organization is set-ill in its building phase, preparing for the primary election
n$xti Mucji
'You really don't understand the depth of it and the complexity of it until you're in
the middle of it," Phares said. "lve laughingly said that if 1 ever do this again I'll do it in
a state like Rhode Island or Delaware."
Phares echoed a Boosalis observation.
"You need to have a fairly thick skin and be able to take criticism if you get into a
campaign, he said.
The effort and money needed for a campaign depends on the importance of the office
and the size of the constituency , along with several other factors.
Until recently, presidential campaigns lasted about a year, from shortly before the
first primary until the general election. But McGovern started his campaign two years
before the Wisconsin primary. The victory boosted him to his party's nomination. Jimmy
Carter was also p&t of a crowd of candidates starting early.
Locally, however, Boosalis has said she decided to run for mayor only a month before
the primary election. Sittig pointed out that in the last Natural Resources District race,
a woman who did no campaigning defeated a prominent and politically active dentist.
He notes that there are many other "low-profile" posts which offer a political novice
a good chance of victory. He estimated that there are about half a million elective offices
in the country . Many of them have uncontested races.
Higher offices, however, are tougher to gain. And it is here that the political rules are
broken less often.
1977: A woman's place i.. .
The U.S. Census Bureau, for the first time, includes figures about women in '
business as a separate category in its listings this year.
The figures indicate that, although more women are entering business, they own
only 4.6 percent of all businesses in the country. They account for 3.1 percent of
all business profits,
Germany's Der Speigle magazine reports that the United States is eighth on the
list of countries that have a countible percentage of women in their national
politics. Sweden is first with 27 percent. They are followed by Finland with 22 per
cent, Denmark, I! percent; The Peoples Republic of China, 10 percent; Mexico,
S percent, Israel, 7 percent and the U.S.A. with 3.5 percent.
hi I. immmmm mm 1 '
The odds are 92 to 2 you
"A lot of people start with crummy ideas. They get
a license,, a few shelves and some space. Put an ad in
the paper, put up their shingle and they're in business.
They don 't think the thing through and get caught. "
-Mike Niehaus,
ban ojwert
Small Business Administration
Maybe it all started with a lemonade stand when
you were in third grade. The first few pennies seemed
to click with something in your chemistry.
Now, years later, you're looking in the face of a
sudden burst of ambition. You want to open a business
of your own, and you're not thinking about making a
few pennies, , .
Lest you blindly risk VOur first-born inheritance on
a business venture which goes sour, consider the following:
About 95 percent of all business in America is small business, The odds of failing
in the first year of business are 98 to 2. You might say this gives you a five percent
chance of dreaming up a new and exciting product or service and a two percent
chance of convincing others of its need,
But, fear not idealists. There is, even against those statistics, a way to gamble skill
fully with an idea until it is a business.
The growing small business venture today offers a service rather than making or
selling a product. Knowing that, you might want to open up a poodle-trimming parlor.
Number one: you need capital. You can scoop up your savings, collect gifts or loans
from mom and dad and seek loans from local banks.
But you must convince the bank that your business project is a realistic idea with
sound possibility.
. . T helP ou lt lon officer such as Mike Niehaus of the Small Business Admin
istration Counseling (S3AC) in Omaha will guarantee your idea and cosign for a bank
(SBAC is a federal agency supported by tax dollars which helps the anaU business
man. Along with backing small business risks, it makes sure big government legisla-
d I V , busir. nd offers a volunteer counseling service, Service Core
or Keurea fcxecutives (SCORfc) which advises new businessmen on everything from
bookkeeping to merchandising problems.)
. i MtrKP!enu-r IT ,convince the loan officer that he has done Ids homework
and established capital, Niehaus said.
Doing your homework in business research means asking yourself these questions:
-Why will a poodle trimming parlor succeed?
-Is there a need for one In the area?
