Buzzwords

Are we really that shallow, or do they just think we are?

The campaign for the next president of the United States is now based on buzzwords. Chief among them is “Change.” That’s Sen. Barack Obama’s core message, which fits him well. He would be a big change from the current White House administration.

Trouble is, most of the other campaigns – in both parties – are using the same language. As if people aren’t paying attention.

It worked in Iowa.

Even more than in Iowa, Sen. Obama’s campaign platform to “change Washington” and “end the partisan food fights” of recent years — a reference to the Clinton era as well as George W. Bush’s presidency — has been a sensation in New Hampshire among Democrats, independents and even some Republicans.

With his popularity rising, everyone has piled on to the message of “change.” It’s getting to be a parody.

As is typical in campaigns, Sen. Clinton’s travails have ignited infighting within her organization, much of it aimed at pollster and chief strategist Mark Penn. Critics say Mr. Penn underestimated the electorate’s appetite for change as the campaign promoted her Washington experience, a charge he contests. “On the very first day of the campaign, Sen. Clinton talked about the bold change we need, and the campaign slogan began ‘Ready for Change.’ … So it has always been a central part of the campaign,” he said in an email.

It’s actually getting pathetic, so strapped are the campaigns to what they believe is the ‘marketable’ language.

Democrats expect Sen. Obama to be forced to pass what one calls “the Oval Office Test,” and will be pressed more to translate what “change” means in policy specifics. The Obama campaign is considering some weighty speeches, perhaps on foreign policy and on stimulating the economy — to give him more heft with an eye to the general election as well as the nomination battle.

Since that has become the rallying cry, other candidates have taken it up. Which I don’t like, because that means they’re being driven by the media.

With John McCain battling not only his fellow Republicans in New Hampshire but also Barack Obama in the fight for the state’s precious independent vote — folks who can cast a ballot in either primary — he stressed today that he would steal a page from the Illinois Democrat and cast himself as the real “agent of change.”

This is becoming a drumbeat. Though Sen. McCain doesn’t use the word as much, he turns it back on reporters to say that while they count the times “change” is used in speeches, he’s actually been proposing it in real terms.

The Arizona senator, in comments to bloggers during a conference call, said he was “very proud” that he had pushed and pushed and pushed President Bush’s administration to adopt what became known as the “surge” strategy. He returned to that theme frequently during the conversation, at one point saying the changed policy had “saved America’s most precious resource” — the lives of soldiers.

See? We’ve got to be attuned to these dropped references to the important buzzwords. Everyone seems to be picking them up and running with them.

Instead, Mr. Romney has presented himself as the person least objectionable to all the different branches of the Republican coalition. His many attack ads have reinforced this blandness, tearing down his competitors, but doing little to distinguish Mr. Romney or his policies. All of this misread the public desire for something different, and has now left him vulnerable here to Mr. McCain’s image as the maverick who can “change” Washington by bridging its partisan divide.

I’m not sure what this means, because every new president represents a change.

However, that’s the marketing concept of the moment.

New Hampshire won’t decide the Republican nomination, but it will further winnow the field. The McCain campaign is correct in claiming it doesn’t need a big win in New Hampshire, just any win, and the latest polls suggest he’s on top. A second loss would deal Mr. Romney’s campaign a nasty blow–one from which there might be no recovery. That isn’t the kind of change Mr. Romney has in mind.

The question is…..what kind of change does America have in mind?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *