lection of 1896 when Republican National Committee Chairman Mark Hanna engineered the selection and later election of Republican Nominee William McKinley. Hanna ran McKinley's campaign, "the saturation television techniques of today are the equivalent of the...flood of leaflets, posters, pamphlets and surrogate stump speakers" (Bailey, 2004) employed by Hanna in running the campaign. But Hanna also exerted a great deal of influence on policy, running the campaign on issues that favored big business and later on making policy once McKinley was elected president (White, 2004, p. 4). More than one hundred years later, the job description has changed for Republican Party Chairman. When reading the bio for current Republican Party Chair Ed Gillespie, available from the party's official website, some things become clear about the relationship between party and candidate. The bio states that Gillespie did not become chairman because he had the support of other influential party members, but rather he was chosen by President Bush because of long time supporter of the President. This is almost the opposite relationship shared by Hanna and President McKinley. On the issues, the bio gives us no insight as to how Gillespie feels. However, it does report, seemingly with glee, that Gillespie has been touted "as a 'media maestro and Republican strategist skilled in the art of political counterpunching" (Republican National Committee, 2004). Gillespie is party chair not for his legislativ
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