Someone once said: “Image is everything”. The current cultural climate forces the presidential candidates to sacrifice their message for the sake of promoting their appearance. Today it does not matter what a candidate says but how he looks saying it. It’s a sad time in this country when the people choose a president based on his look rather then his platform. Has the term “platform” disappeared from the campaign trail all together? Are Americans so impatient, they cannot look beyond the image to see the real man beneath? And as a result, has image become the primary method for candidates to win an election?
Playing to the masses, Senator Obama placed style above substance, in order to garner public support. Known as the charismatic candidate, Senator Obama provides little else to evaluate his candidacy. Instead, Senator Obama made a great effort to illustrate the image of youthfulness throughout his campaign, the showiest example being the infamous fist bump with his wife. This brings to mind the 1992 appearance of then candidate Bill Clinton on MTV and his infamous answer to the ever-so-popular boxers or briefs question. Following in the footsteps of the image president himself, the fist bump showed Obama’s realness, connecting him to the younger generations that have been fist bumping for years. By capitalizing on the familiarity of the congratulatory move, Obama reiterated his image of the young gun roping in youthful undecided voters.
The Obama family fist bump ushers back memories of the Al and Tipper Gore onstage kiss. The passionate kiss gained Al Gore points in the polls after the convention. This kiss, which had nothing to do with the substance of the Gore campaign, boosted his polling numbers, proving his passionate style more important than anything he said. Pulling the old play out of the democratic handbook, Obama pumped out the fist bump to show the sincere relationship he shares with his wife. This bump, however unscripted it appeared, drew the intended response. Declared, “the fist bump heard around the world”, the Obamas reestablished themselves in the image of a real, loving, and supportive family. This bump drew attention but not for what Obama said but for the image portrayed.
Obama’s dependence of image to bolster his campaign seeped into his acceptance speech celebration. The depiction of the Democratic National Convention captivated its viewers with glitz, glam, and ancient columns. The stagecraft was unmatched in years past. The television coverage of the event brought focus to the glamour of the Democratic Party, where the temple like stage received more coverage than the actual speech Obama made. He looked like a Greek god ascending to enlighten America. He looked like a Greek god ascending to enlighten America compared to the coverage of the Republican National Convention; which focused on the protestors rather than the platform or even re-energized delegation of the party(Seven Laws. 81,82). The agenda of the media stunted the efforts for substance in both cases; as for Obama and the DNC, Americans enjoyed a show worthy of an Emmy.
Limited airtime restricts the content that candidates can share with the public. Like every president since the introduction of the television, its Obama’s image that matters not what he says. Obama created himself in the image of the young gun, the Washington outsider. The attempts to discover the nature of Obama’s platform remain relatively elusive. However obscure, Obama’s campaign adds up to one slogan: change. The restraints created by television’s image first agenda assist the Senator by limiting news and ads to superficial statements therefore making his simple declaration of change feel legitimate. The American people see a young, charismatic Senator promising change, although very few can actually answer what change he seeks.
The introduction of television into politics created presidential candidates who focus on being the primped and groomed ideal nominee. Unlike the presidents before, the candidates face a media pressuring them to forgo their multifaceted and complex stances in order to gain voter popularity. Senator Obama remains unscathed by the restraints of the modern campaign, his image based tactics flourish under the thirty-second spotlight given by news media. He sounds and looks so good; heck he’d make a good president right?
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 75.
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 75.
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 75.
Lecture. Who Will Win the White House. 27 Aug 2008.
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 81.
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 81-82.
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 89.
Lecture. Presidential Greatness. 10 Sep 2008.
Dunn, Charles W. The Seven Laws of Presidential Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. 2007. 91.
Dunn, Charles W. The Scarlet Thread of Scandal. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield. 2001. 110.
No comments:
Post a Comment