---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our campaigns have not grown more…"
description: "\"“Our campaigns have not grown more humanistic because our candidates are more benevolent or their policy concerns more salient. In fact, over the last ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sasha-issenberg-67097_big-business_our-campaigns-have-not-grown-more-humani_1471266.jpg"
---

#  Our campaigns have not grown more humanistic because our…

![“Our campaigns have not grown more humanistic because our candidates are more benevolent or their policy concerns more salient. In fact, over the last decade, public confidence in institutions-- big business, the church, media, government-- has declined dramatically. The political conversation has…” quote by Sasha Issenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sasha-issenberg-67097_big-business_our-campaigns-have-not-grown-more-humani_1471266.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sasha-issenberg-67097_big-business_our-campaigns-have-not-grown-more-humani_1471266.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/sasha-issenberg-67097_big-business_our-campaigns-have-not-grown-more-humani_1471266.jpg)

> ““Our campaigns have not grown more humanistic because our candidates are more benevolent or their policy concerns more salient. In fact, over the last decade, public confidence in institutions-- big business, the church, media, government-- has declined dramatically. The political conversation has privileged the nasty and trivial. Yet during that period, election seasons have awakened with a new culture of volunteer activity. This cannot be credited to a politics inspiring people to hand over their time but rather to campaign, newly alert to the irreplaceable value of a human touch, seeking it out. Finally campaigns are learning to quantify the ineffable—the value of a neighbor's knock, of a stranger's call, the delicate condition of being undecided-- and isolate the moment where a behavior can be changed, or a heart won. Campaigns have started treating voters like people again.””

Sasha Issenberg

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Campaigns are shifting from impersonal tactics to personal, human‑focused interactions, recognizing the power of direct, empathetic contact to influence undecided voters.

**In simple terms:** Campaigns now value personal contact to win voters.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize genuine human interactions.

Themes

politics human connection campaign strategy trust engagement

Mood

reflective optimistic

Type

analytical inspirational

When to use this quote

- door‑to‑door canvassing
- phone banking
- community events
- personalized messaging

Key Concepts

behavioral economics social capital empathy microtargeting

Questions to Reflect On

- How can campaigns balance personal touch with broad reach?
- What metrics best capture the value of a neighbor’s knock?

A Different Perspective

Human touch may not scale for large electorates; resource constraints limit personal outreach.

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[Big business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-business/) [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

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