Will “Super Tuesday” mean super events?
What started out as an 8 horse race is now coming down to the final four. As both democrats and republicans gear up for what looks like a four-way race, I can’t help but think whether today is actually what it all comes down to. All the money spent, all the talk on Crossfire and Bill O’Rielly, all the juvenile banter between Hilary and Obama –it could very likely all come down to this. Maybe this Tuesday really is more super than we are giving it credit for.
And if you listen to the media, they would have you believe today is just the start and most likely will not decide anything, especially on the democratic side of the house. But reality is that it could. After all, the New Hampshire primary showed us how our wonderful genius statisticians can just flat get it wrong. Now we have to multiply those standard deviations and margin of errors by a factor of 22 much bigger, more complex states. In other words, maybe it just won’t be as close as we think. Also, are we really taking into account how different these presidential candidates are compared to who has run for president in the past? As much as this country is ready for (and most likely needs!) a female or African American president, reality is we don’t know who is going to show up to vote in this election because the issues are so prevalent and it is potential history in the making.
So politics is always fun to talk about (even if it is bound to piss somebody off), but as event planners, how does it all of this political talk fit in? Does the next white house resident really effect how many events will take place, how much money is spent on them, who is going to go to concerts, etc? Many republicans will tell you that they generally have more economic friendly policies and that there will be more money for events if you vote for them. While the Democrats don’t mind raising taxes on the rich, DC residents are quick to point out that there were many more special events going on during President Clinton’s administration that President Bush.
While there may be differing opinions on how the commander-in-chief effects events, one must also consider how Capitol Hill plays a role. After all, the accounting scandals of Enron and Worldcom definitely had a direct effect on event planning. In the “pre-scandal days”, corporate events were more lavish and there was more of a willingness to spend money entertaining and relationship building in order to win more business in the future. This was just the way things were done. Now, after a very stiff Sarbanes-Oxley law that was passed in the House, corporate events have all but become very prudent, low budget affairs. And its not like the extra savings due to “Sar-box” are being passed down to shareholders. Management is finding a way to keep that money in their pocketbooks. The old tradeoff of “fear and greed” is still in effect as company’s have to pay ridiculous salaries, bonuses and golden parachutes out to executives who threaten to go to competitors. So really, the events have just become more of a “rich person thing” than a corporate one. And how will the election effect event planning? Most of the next few years for event planners will not be based upon reality, but perception. Whoever wins the election this November will face a tough economic climate, but how long the economy stays this way is really up to the market’s perception of how this new president-elect will do. And many would argue that there is a strong correlation to the economy and high-end events. So, lets all hope that come November, we can sigh a breath of relief that their will still be a good reason to throw a party.
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02-05-2008, 04:50 PM
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