In wake of Obama’s win in the Iowa caucuses tonight, and Jon Edwards (apparent) second place finish, I’m reminded of one of the chief maxims taught to me at my political campaigning program: every campaign is about either the future or the past.
The 2008 presidential campaign is the first campaign since 1928 without incumbents in the primaries. In this vacuum, someone has to pick of the incumbent mantle. For many months, this person has been Hillary Clinton. Recently, she grafted “change” onto her slogan, but even this new tagline equivocates: “Ready for Change.” She’s ready, don’t you see, whereas her opponents are not.
When Bill Clinton ran in 1992, he was the man from Hope. His first campaign was about the future.
If Hillary Clinton’s campaign asked us to reach back nearly eight years to her husband’s administration when we were at peace and the country was prosperous, she might have a hook. But instead, she’s mainly asking us to consider her senate resume. She’s not an agent of change, she’s merely ready for it.
Competence alone doesn’t often win elections. Her slant recalls a flat appeal from a few elections ago:
Because this election isn’t about ideology. It’s about competence. –Michael Dukakis, 1988 Acceptance Speech.
Clinton is still very much in this race. But if she’s asking voters to choose competence over hope, I place my money on hope.
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