Politics
Before transitioning to this private sector work about a decade ago, Wilhelm had established a reputation as a leading manager of political campaigns, working for candidates such as Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, Richard Daley, the late Paul Simon and several other Illinois-based Democrats. Wilhelm ran the day-to-day operations of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, directed its Electoral College and political strategy, and spearheaded the post-convention bus tour of the American heartland.
Upon his election in 1992, President Clinton nominated Wilhelm to serve as Chair of the Democratic National Committee, making Wilhelm the youngest person to ever serve in that role in either political party.
Wilhelm’s tenure in the position was a rocky one. While Chair, Wilhelm emphasized the importance of grassroots party activists and elevated the role of state and local elected officials within the national party, he reinstituted an advisory council of representatives from organized labor, and worked to reach out to evangelical Christian voters, famously appearing before a convention of the Christian Coalition to a chorus of boos. Under Wilhelm’s leadership, the DNC played a meaningful role in support of President Clinton’s first budget proposal, which passed a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives by a single vote. But these organizational efforts were overwhelmed by Clinton era controversies related to NAFTA, health care, and Congressional nervousness about the 1994 midterm elections, his youthfulness worked against him in public appearances, and sensing a lack of White House support, in the summer of 1994, Wilhelm announced his intent to leave the DNC post upon the completion of the campaign season.
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Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. It is the art of government. Like other values it has its counterfeits. So much emphasis has been placed upon the false that the significance of the true has been obscured and politics has come to convey the meaning of crafty and cunning selfishness, instead of candid and sincere service.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“The average Kentuckian may appear a bit confused in his knowledge of history, but he is firmly certain about current politics. Kentucky cannot claim first place in political importance, but it tops the list in its keen enjoyment of politics for its own sake. It takes the average Kentuckian only a matter of moments to dispose of the weather and personal helath, but he never tires of a political discussion.”
—For the State of Kentucky, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Of course, in the reality of history, the Machiavellian view which glorifies the principle of violence has been able to dominate. Not the compromising conciliatory politics of humaneness, not the Erasmian, but rather the politics of vested power which firmly exploits every opportunity, politics in the sense of the “Principe,” has determined the development of European history ever since.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)