As we barrel toward a presidential election, nearly every leader we’ve interviewed for The CEO.com Show has told us they’re paying attention to the uncertain political environment in the context of how they run their company and the long-term decisions they need to make.

This leads to a couple of follow-up questions:

1. Why does who sits in the Oval Office matter to your company?

2. Should leaders publicly voice their political opinions?

I’m sure politicians are knocking on your door, asking for a donation. It’s important to remember that politics is a giant business. Thomas Philippon writes about this at length in his book "The Great Reversal." If you’re at all curious about the future of free markets and America, I can’t recommend this book more strongly.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, newly elected Congressman David Jolly discussed the first thing he did once he arrived in Washington, D.C. “We sat behind closed doors at one of the party headquarters back rooms in front of a whiteboard where the equation was drawn out. You have six months until the election. Break that down to having to raise $2 million in the next six months. And your job, new member of Congress, is to raise $18,000 a day. Your first responsibility is to make sure you hit $18,000 a day.”

It’s impossible to feel pity for a politician, but the idea that these people run to work in a call center asking for donations every day is pretty wild.

Does any of this matter, or is it all just a giant distraction?

“Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays.”

Will Rogers

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