Are Charisma and Party-Building Mutually Exclusive?

Sorry everyone -- I was on the road for most of the day, and I had attempted to schedule these posts, but apparently they didn't go through. Things will be better next weekend! --Craig

To answer the question in the title, I argue that no, charisma and party-building should not be mutually exclusive.

At Democratic Strategist, J.P. Green examines the Democratic Party's relationship with charisma and the Republican Party's simultaneous relationship with party-building. Green argues that while the Democrats were distracted from party development efforts by Kennedy's charisma, Republicans got to work in the 1970s, launching direct mail efforts, building a large communications infrastructure, and starting multiple think tanks. Green's main point is that we can't let that happen to us again.

After undergoing a thorough rebuilding process over the past four years, which did pay off in 2008, it might be tempting to sit back and relax, enjoying our president's charisma and believing that it will take us where we need to go.

Gallup released presidential approval numbers a few days ago reflecting the bounce Obama got from his speech Tuesday night. What's most remarkable about this is the impact he's having on Republicans, who had hopped off his bandwagon in recent weeks. Take a look:

Eventually we'll begin peeling more Republicans off the GOP base by showing them what competent government looks like. As Obama uses more and more of his charisma to communicate with disaffected GOPers, they'll begin to entertain the idea of joining a Democratic Party that, all of a sudden, has proven its worth to the country.

Our particular challenge, of course, is to provide room for these new arrivals, while continuing to better position the nation for the future (specifically, the future majority). If we want to avoid what happened to the Democratic Party a few decades ago, the 50 State Strategy, the focus on recruiting youth, and continued investment in the netroots are all an imperative part of our strategy going forward. Unfortunately, we can't have President Obama around forever; there will be Democratic presidents who are far less charismatic. Ideally, though, these presidents will be helped by a gargantuan infrastructure to continue spreading the message we all believe in -- that successful government relies on the citizen's faith and participation in the political process.