This US election season the candidates have been using everything they can to help them beat their opponent…. including their families.
But there's sometimes an uneasy relationship with their relations. Because political candidates can find their biggest supporters become their biggest liabilities.
But do families help or hurt campaigns, and are there times when the candidates try to keep their nearest and dearest, slightly further away?
Nick Harper reports from New York.
IN: "They're the candidates..."
OUT: SOC
DUR: 3:49
AIR: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-air.mp3
ARN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-arn.mp3
938 LIVE: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-938.mp3
FM4: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-fm4.mp3
ICRT: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-icrt.mp3
NIGERIA: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-von.mp3
RNZ: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-rnz.mp3
VATICAN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-vat.mp3
ZIZ: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-ziz.mp3
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-gen.mp3
SABC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-air.mp3
TAKE PKG
TAKE VO
They're the candidates' biggest fans….
UNSOUND [Ivanka - "He loves his family and he loves his country with his heart and soul"]
[Chelsea - "My mother will make us proud as our next President."]
TAKE VO
Offering a human face to their tough political campaigns.
Becky Schaumberg, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, NYU Stern
"Families members can be good character witnesses to political candidates."
TAKE VO
Becky Schaumberg, a professor specializing in personality traits in leaders, feels families not only soften the edges of the candidates, they can positively endorse them through association.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Becky Schaumberg, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, NYU Stern
"Let's say you met someone who you're unsure about, or you're on the fence about whether you like them or whether you trust them. And then you meet their significant other, or you meet their spouse and that person's wonderful. And you recognize if that person saw something great in this person then it can lead you trust them more, you can see them as more likable."
TAKE VO
But of course the opposite can also be true, as Political Analyst and Democrat strategist Peter Emerson explains.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Peter Emerson, Political Analyst and Democrat strategist
"The Trump boys have more of a negative impact than we would think in the general public. Partly because of their habits which are limited to a very small group of people which include the hunting of species overseas and also their inability to really articulate their father's positions anymore."
TAKE VO
The two daughters in this race however - Ivanka and Chelsea - have been universally praised.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Peter Emerson, Political Analyst and Democrat strategist
"She's grown up as America has matured as well. So I think we've all felt through all of the turmoil and all of the extraordinary actions of the Clinton administration, Chelsea was not only a witness to history but oftentimes a participant. And she's matured and become a very solid citizen with an identity of her own."
"I think Ivanka Trump has had a very positive and lightening effect on her father, it's got a very positive impact."
TAKE VO
Although Ivanka disappearing from the campaign trail this summer and being spotted onboard the yacht of a major Clinton donor was seen as a slight mis-step.
TAKE VO
Because that's the problem, families can sometimes hurt more than they help.
Remember Melania Trump's speech at the Republican Convention, overshadowed for plagiarizing lines from a Michelle Obama speech.
TAKE VO
Or when Bill Clinton veered off message, criticizing President Obama's signature healthcare plan.
SOT
Bill Clinton, Former US President
"You're got this crazy system where all of a sudden you have 25 million more people have healthcare - it's the craziest thing in the world."
TAKE VO
Candidates can also find their spouse's past being used as a weapon against them.
Melania's immigration status and education record have been questioned.
While her husband has made Bill Clinton's sexual history an issue, accusing him of sexual misconduct and rape.
UNSOUND "Bill Clinton raped me."
TAKE VO
And in this election the families have been used in unprecedented ways.
Melania stood by her husband despite allegations of sexual assault.
UNSOUND - Melanie Trump, Donald Trump's wife - "This is not the man that I know."
TAKE VO
The Trump kids, even though lacking political experience, have acted as their father's advisers. Here's Dan Schnur from the Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Dan Schnur, Institute of Politics, University of Southern California
"Even though he knows this is a new area for them also - he trusts their judgment, he respects their intelligence and he's going to continue to rely on them just as heavily in the Oval Office as he has during the campaign."
UNSOUND - "I think about my mother Dorothy, and that's the kind of living family she provided for us"
TAKE VO
While Clinton has relied instead on the concept of family, showing herself as part of one - as a mother, a grand-mother, and a daughter.
In the glare of the public spotlight that family help can easily turn into a hindrance. That said this election the candidates have said and done enough themselves to keep the spotlight firmly fixed on them, and for the large part away from their families.
SOC
ENDS
But there's sometimes an uneasy relationship with their relations. Because political candidates can find their biggest supporters become their biggest liabilities.
But do families help or hurt campaigns, and are there times when the candidates try to keep their nearest and dearest, slightly further away?
Nick Harper reports from New York.
IN: "They're the candidates..."
OUT: SOC
DUR: 3:49
AIR: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-air.mp3
ARN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-arn.mp3
938 LIVE: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-938.mp3
FM4: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-fm4.mp3
ICRT: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-icrt.mp3
NIGERIA: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-von.mp3
RNZ: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-rnz.mp3
VATICAN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-vat.mp3
ZIZ: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-ziz.mp3
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-gen.mp3
SABC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1028families-nh-air.mp3
TAKE PKG
TAKE VO
They're the candidates' biggest fans….
UNSOUND [Ivanka - "He loves his family and he loves his country with his heart and soul"]
[Chelsea - "My mother will make us proud as our next President."]
TAKE VO
Offering a human face to their tough political campaigns.
Becky Schaumberg, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, NYU Stern
"Families members can be good character witnesses to political candidates."
TAKE VO
Becky Schaumberg, a professor specializing in personality traits in leaders, feels families not only soften the edges of the candidates, they can positively endorse them through association.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Becky Schaumberg, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, NYU Stern
"Let's say you met someone who you're unsure about, or you're on the fence about whether you like them or whether you trust them. And then you meet their significant other, or you meet their spouse and that person's wonderful. And you recognize if that person saw something great in this person then it can lead you trust them more, you can see them as more likable."
TAKE VO
But of course the opposite can also be true, as Political Analyst and Democrat strategist Peter Emerson explains.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Peter Emerson, Political Analyst and Democrat strategist
"The Trump boys have more of a negative impact than we would think in the general public. Partly because of their habits which are limited to a very small group of people which include the hunting of species overseas and also their inability to really articulate their father's positions anymore."
TAKE VO
The two daughters in this race however - Ivanka and Chelsea - have been universally praised.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Peter Emerson, Political Analyst and Democrat strategist
"She's grown up as America has matured as well. So I think we've all felt through all of the turmoil and all of the extraordinary actions of the Clinton administration, Chelsea was not only a witness to history but oftentimes a participant. And she's matured and become a very solid citizen with an identity of her own."
"I think Ivanka Trump has had a very positive and lightening effect on her father, it's got a very positive impact."
TAKE VO
Although Ivanka disappearing from the campaign trail this summer and being spotted onboard the yacht of a major Clinton donor was seen as a slight mis-step.
TAKE VO
Because that's the problem, families can sometimes hurt more than they help.
Remember Melania Trump's speech at the Republican Convention, overshadowed for plagiarizing lines from a Michelle Obama speech.
TAKE VO
Or when Bill Clinton veered off message, criticizing President Obama's signature healthcare plan.
SOT
Bill Clinton, Former US President
"You're got this crazy system where all of a sudden you have 25 million more people have healthcare - it's the craziest thing in the world."
TAKE VO
Candidates can also find their spouse's past being used as a weapon against them.
Melania's immigration status and education record have been questioned.
While her husband has made Bill Clinton's sexual history an issue, accusing him of sexual misconduct and rape.
UNSOUND "Bill Clinton raped me."
TAKE VO
And in this election the families have been used in unprecedented ways.
Melania stood by her husband despite allegations of sexual assault.
UNSOUND - Melanie Trump, Donald Trump's wife - "This is not the man that I know."
TAKE VO
The Trump kids, even though lacking political experience, have acted as their father's advisers. Here's Dan Schnur from the Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California.
TAKE SOUNDBITE
Dan Schnur, Institute of Politics, University of Southern California
"Even though he knows this is a new area for them also - he trusts their judgment, he respects their intelligence and he's going to continue to rely on them just as heavily in the Oval Office as he has during the campaign."
UNSOUND - "I think about my mother Dorothy, and that's the kind of living family she provided for us"
TAKE VO
While Clinton has relied instead on the concept of family, showing herself as part of one - as a mother, a grand-mother, and a daughter.
In the glare of the public spotlight that family help can easily turn into a hindrance. That said this election the candidates have said and done enough themselves to keep the spotlight firmly fixed on them, and for the large part away from their families.
SOC
ENDS