Lameiro’s Ten Laws for Winning Presidential Elections

By Gerard Francis Lameiro, Ph.D.

1. Law of the Optimistic Vision. The candidate who presents the most optimistic vision for the nation will usually win the election.
2. Law of Electoral Elasticity. It is possible to move 10% of the electorate to support another candidate within a one week time period with the proper Need-Position-Message-Delivery system.
3. Law of the National Hierarchy of Needs. The three most important issues affecting the outcome of an election are in order:
   1. Peace,
   2. Prosperity, and
   3. Personality (of the candidates).
4. Law of War and Peace. If the nation is at war, an incumbent will usually win the election.  If the nation is at peace and war is threatened, the candidate who presents the best vision and plan for maintaining peace will usually win the election.  If the nation is at peace and war is not threatened, peace will not be an issue in the election.
5. Law of the Incumbent. If the nation is at war or the nation is prosperous, an incumbent will usually win the election.
6. Law of the Challenger. If the nation is at peace and the nation is not prosperous, a challenger will usually win the election.
7. Law of the Dominant Issue. There is usually one dominant issue in each election campaign.  The dominant issue is usually one of the issues associated with the National Hierarchy of Needs.  The candidate who has the best Need-Position-Message-Delivery system on the dominant issue will usually win the election.
8. Law of the Dominant Personality. If the dominant issue is the personality of the candidates, then the candidate who presents the best personality for leadership will usually win the election.  The four critical traits of leadership sought by the electorate in order are:
   1. Confidence,
   2. Courage (including integrity and optimism),
   3. Caring, and
   4. Competence.
9. Law of the Dominant Offense. The candidate who campaigns offensively most of the time and defensively rarely will usually win the election.
10. Law of the Consistent Theme. The candidate who campaigns around a consistent and concise campaign theme dealing with the dominant issue will usually win the election.