Like everyone else I'm just feeling my way, but I've already won the campaign game through all the levels as a Democrat (Obama-Kerry beat Washington-Nixon at the Painful Level with 46% of the popular vote but 272 Electoral Votes). And now I'm ready for the highest level Democratic foe: JFK. So I think my comments may be somewhat useful. I'll confine this post to comments on Operatives. These can be divided into 3 types.

1) The PR specialist, speechwriter and fashion consultant (only 1 of each being available) permanently and positively impact your candidate's qualities and should be purchased early.

2) Consultants and Intimidators have a cumulative effect. A Consultant acquired on Turn 2 can generate 160 points of awareness in the course of a game; an Intimidator can subtract 200 awareness points from your opponent. They can be moved around freely, at no cost in money or fatigue. The earlier you acquire them, the better. Don't forget about these guys, once placed. Once a state has reached 100% awareness or seems out of your opponent's reach, keeping a Consultant there wastes this asset. Some special operatives acquired by luck, such as the Hollywood Friend, also have the cumulative effect and should be deployed as soon as you acquire them. So does the VP. Webmasters also function turn after turn, but indirectly, cutting the cost of all advertising in a state.

3) Spin Doctors and Smear Merchants have an instant, snapshot effect, not a cumulative one. A spin doctor placed in Ohio on turn 40 has the same effect on Election Day as one which has resided there since Turn 2. You can wait until late in the game to deploy them, subject to the limit of 2 Operatives acquired per turn, and gain the bonus of giving your opponent an unrealistic sense of his advantage in key states. Some special types, such as the Media Darling, also have only this snapshot effect. They should remain on your clipboard, immune to zapping by fixers, until just before Election Day. Fixers are also used once, but defensively, applied at the moment of your choosing.

GAMING CONSEQUENCES: I recommend building a top-level consulting office as soon as you can, in a noncritical state where you will not need a campaign HQ. This will generate 7 points per turn, enough to keep you well supplied with Operatives. You probably won't need any more. Get the PR specialist at once, then a Consultant and an Intimidator, both to be placed in California (to hasten your awareness and cut your opponents). Be sure to get a Speechwriter and Fashion Consultant before you run low on money and start making speeches. Then stock up on Consultants and Intimidators. The Consultants should rush you to 100% awareness in California, at which point you should start fundraising there (either party). Keep Intimidators in California to retard your opponent there. When California is at 100% awareness, shift the Consultants to New York and Texas, the next best fundraising states. If you have a Money Man, keep him on your clipboard until ready to use him in a fundraising blitz. Otherwise, a fixer may zap him. When your intended fundraising states are at 100% awareness (whether or not you are winning them), start moving consultants among small states with good registration numbers for your party. (This is especially critical for a Republican, since most of the smallest states should be with you if turnout is strong.) After you have fundraised and received the VP's money bonus, you can think about deploying webmasters, one at a time, in a few states meeting 2 criteria: a) big swing states with large Electoral Vote totals; local interest in the issues you want to pursue on a national level. You might choose one state that is strongly in your column, not closely divided, if its people care about some red meat partisan issues you want to campaign on nationally but which are unavailable in the swing states without purchasing a top level campaign HQ. Once you have webmasters (ideally in the same state as a movie director) supporting several ads, make sure you have the consulting points in reserve to immediately replace a webmaster who gets zapped by an opponent's fixer. Otherwise, your turn-by-turn ad bill will skyrocket. Wait to use your fixers against prime targets. like Money Men. The AI may place Operatives in silly places, Spin Doctors in Kansas for instance. Ignore those. Wait to zap Operatives who can really hurt you.  Wait until late in the game to deploy your Spin Doctors and Smear Merchants, bearing in mind that only 2 Operatives can be acquired per turn.