Not sure if this is necessarily worthy of its own thread, but I'd like to get some feedback without derailing a different thread.

I'm wondering what people's reactions are to the idea of "hope" as it relates to the Obama campaign and his presidency. Throughout his campaign it was one of his unifying messages (as well as "change"), and one strong enough that it appears to have persisted for supporters a year past the election.

My question is in what way do supporters of President Obama link hope to his presidency? Particularly, this question is aimed at those who are passionate about the message. Is it Obama himself (e.g. personality/character/principles) that symbolizes hope? Is it a particular set of election promises? Is it the election of a minority to the presidency? Or is it merely symbolizing a changing of the guard?

Are there folks out there that believed strongly in the message at campaign time but have now dismissed it based on perception of his performance or a particular campaign issue? Is there anyone out there that has gone the *other* way?

Finally, do you think the message of "hope" one that is distinct to Obama's campaign? In other words, if it had been a different candidate from the Democratic Party, do you think this message still would have been used and would be as effective? Could this message ever be used by the Republican Party (e.g., if they choose a minority or female candidate)?

10/11/2009 6:24:01 PM

[Edited on October 11, 2009 at 6:30 PM. Reason : it. was. nothing. but. propoganda. and. it. worked. ]

10/11/2009 6:27:42 PM

Quote :

"it. was. nothing. but. propoganda. and. it. worked."

that's certainly a valid viewpoint, but also orthogonal to the questions posed. some people swear by the message, propaganda or not, and i'm wondering how they feel about it. For those that consider it as just successful propaganda, do you think that this it helped at all to unify people across the political spectrum (or a subset of the spectrum) or did it make things more divided?

[Edited on October 11, 2009 at 6:49 PM. Reason : in response to comments in edit above]

10/11/2009 6:28:21 PM

I hope pack_bryan will remove some of those pics so I don't have to horizontal scroll.

10/11/2009 6:42:40 PM

The hope thing worked for Carter and Clinton as well.

10/11/2009 7:44:47 PM

"The Man from Hope"

10/11/2009 8:17:27 PM

The propaganda worked b/c Bush was so god fucking awful that the majority would have voted for Retarded Dipshit (D).

10/11/2009 10:48:27 PM

haha, it seems they did

10/11/2009 10:51:40 PM

^^ That theory would be plausible if voter turnout was steady or below previous elections. Barack Obama turned out a lot of voters that hadn't voted before.

10/12/2009 11:06:58 AM

Or, feeling punished for not voting in 2004 by being given George Bush, they decided enough was enough and voted "not bush" in 2008.

I don't believe that, but it is another interpretation. I am swayed by the "Fresh Propaganda perceived as Fresh. Film at 11."

[Edited on October 12, 2009 at 12:42 PM. Reason : .,.]

10/12/2009 12:41:55 PM

Obama has lost a lot of political capital, for sure. He was flying high right after inauguration. Now, not so much. I don't think the healthcare bill is going to pass in the way that democrats want it to. The economy is getting worse. Obama is probably going to get blamed for the worsening economy, regardless of what he's done. Depending on who Republicans try to run, re-election could be difficult.

Hopefully, something awesome happens and the GOP doesn't pick someone like Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee. I'm not hopeful about that, though.

10/12/2009 12:57:36 PM

^^ Yeah, I don't buy it either. People will turn out to vote for, but they won't turn out to vote against. This has happened time and time again. The Republicans wouldn't have been so successful in 94 if it weren't for the "Contract with America". It gave people a concrete list of reasons to vote for the GOP, not just against WJC. I'm not debating it's merits as a legislative platform but rather as an electoral device.


^ Barring something catastrophic, Barack Obama will be reelected. People simply like him or want to like him. FDR, despite his inept handling of the Great Depression and the worsening of the economy throughout much of his tenure, was reelected more than any president before or since.

10/12/2009 4:51:09 PM

voter turnout in 08 wasn't that much more than 04

10/12/2009 7:06:13 PM

Voter turnout increased by 8.4% from 2004-2008

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html

10/13/2009 4:26:51 PM

as a percentage of voting age public, 2008 had the highest turnout since 1968. 2004 was a fairly high turnout year.

[Edited on October 13, 2009 at 5:36 PM. Reason : .]

10/13/2009 5:36:27 PM