The cult of the personality in U.S. politics is the placing of candidates’ personal
characteristics above such issues as their policies or political ideology. The idea
has existed since the time of the Ancient Greeks, but has developed in the
20th century through the advent of “photography, sound recording, film…and
commercial advertising.”1
In this essay I, outline the historical context, examine the debate surrounding the
causes of this consider some examples to the contrary and finally, conclude
whether personality is as influential in elections as claimed.
It has been demonstrated by researchers and analysts that the personality cult
has impacted upon the presidential system since the time of George
Washington.2 That president, although acknowledged by his contemporaries to
have shown reluctance and restraint in his campaign style, has through legend
and history, become one of the most powerful personalities in US politics. The
same may be said of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
These men reflected the relatively restrained nature of the society which they
came from. In addition, they were not under the pressure that the instant media
created, firstly through the telegraph, then the radio, television and most recently,
the 24 hour news and internet. Even so, as the nation moved through the
nineteenth century, the cult of personality became important. The election which
made Andrew Jackson president in 1824 was based on a turnout larger than that
which produced Ronald Reagan. Jackson was not a favoured candidate amongst
the elite of the day, but a clever campaign using letters, cartoons and the tools of
the day that played heavily on his military background and cast him as the
people’s champion. Subsequently men like Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy and
Reagan exploited the potential of the common touch in campaigns where
personality was...