… Mandela was absolutely determined to lead a modern, cutting-edge campaign, drawing heavily on research to achieve his goals. He was also desperate to learn. Amazingly, he would sit through a two-hour presentation on a national poll, watch a focus group from behind a glass wall and page through graphs before thinking about the implications. He was disappointed when the campaign directors thought this a poor use of his time: He wanted to be the polling director. …
Like every great politician, Mandela respected voters and took seriously the way they formed political judgments. Indeed, he thought that a democratic leader must have popular sensibilities and take into account popular sentiment, even if the leader has a clear sense of direction and mission. CONT.
Stan Greenberg (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner), Bloomberg