2008+Presidential+Election


 * __Propaganda and the 2008 Presidential Election – “The Same” __**

Propaganda is a tool used to sway or infiltrate the minds of the populace. It is used to create a mindset and gain confidence through public diplomacy, tact and subtlety. “It is more or less [a] systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by means of symbols (words, gestures, banners, monuments, music, clothing, insignia, etc.)” (Gwinn, 1989, p.166). It is an art of manipulation; manoeuvring intentionally and purposely towards what the propagandist wants to relay. Propagandists have used many means to spread and influence people in favour of, or against some doctrine or idea. They do this by selectively eliminating or adding facts, arguments or ideas and utilizing symbols, sounds and gestures among many other tools of persuasion in order to influence and sway a mindset.

 During the Presidential election in the United States, Barack Obama voiced his opinions, beliefs and his views for a new America in order to gain confidence from the populace through various media forms, particularly: television, radio and press conferences, and social media. Both the Democratic and Republican parties used every avenue to sway the public; propaganda was being used to instil unease by portraying and creating socio-economic doubts. The 2008 Presidential election used propaganda to sway the mindset of the American populace in order to gain votes. This can be seen when analyzing Barack Obama’s 2008 ad campaigns.

Obama’s campaign commercials use many forms of propaganda such as employing euphemisms to compare John McCain’s political stance to that of the former president, George W. Bush. Obama’s “The Same” advertisement is a series of pictures of McCain and Bush together comparing them to one another and stating that they are ‘the same’, having the same motives and beliefs which would only cause America more problems. The first image shows McCain and Bush embracing with boldfaced, capitalized white text across the picture stating “THE SAME”. The white is a stark contrast to the picture giving more emphasis to the words rather than the still image. Paired with theimage is a man saying: “They share the same out of touch attitude.” This directly compares the two Republicans. In the image, Bush appears socially dominant; he is photographed higher and appears to be comforting McCain as if he was a child; making McCain appear weaker than Bush, who is blamed for the economic recession.

 It then flashes to another picture of the two men repeating the text “THE SAME” across the image paired with smaller-sized text stating “Failure to understand the economy.” This image has Bush walking ahead of McCain and holding his hand up, seemingly trying to stop the camera from taking a picture while McCain appears withdrawn, not staring at the camera, and is made to look as though he is trying to speak to his comrade in front of him. This image furthers a social domination of Bush over McCain making him literally follow in his footsteps and struggle for attention. Making the voter feel as though Bush will control McCain if elected and make the American economy in a larger crisis.

The next image is of McCain shaking hands with Bush, once again repeating the text “THE SAME” across the image with smaller text stating “Tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy” while the announcer states, “The same tax cuts for huge corporations, and the wealthiest 1%”, which reiterates what is on the image but gives slightly more detail. In the image, Bush is shaking McCain’s hands on a stairway where McCain is on a lower step looking up at Bush. “It is assumed that differences in size will correlate with differences in social weight that relative size can be routinely used as a means of ensuring that the picture’s story will be understandable at a glance” (Goffman,1979, p.28), therefore the image gives the impression of subordination of McCain by Bush, which denotes McCain’s rank, politically.

 The next image is of Bush and McCain laughing together with the narrator stating “The same questionable ties to lobbyists” along with it printed across the image. McCain seems to be humouring Bush with an animated laugh, appearing to be sycophantic and insincere, as if he is trying to gain favour by flattering Bush.

The next frame is of McCain on Bush’s right side smiling in awe while Bush is giving a speech. Bush appears defensive, due to his upturned hands and shrugging posture, which depicts a lack of knowledge uncertainty and compassion. This image again has “THE SAME” lettering and the man stating “The same plan to spend ten billion a month in Iraq, when we should be rebuilding America”. The image gives the notion that McCain is Bush’s right hand man and admires him and his ways of governance. The defensive attitude paired with the carefree attitude paired with the text gives the viewer the notion that Bush does not care and neither will McCain about restoring America.

 It then flashes to a short clip of McCain stating “I voted with the President over 90% of the time, higher than a lot of my... even Republican colleagues”, which brings together that McCain is following and supporting Bush to rise through the ranks faster. This makes McCain appear dishonest and trying to gain status that will eventually be used to his advantage.

The advertisement then goes to an image of a fuzzy screen paired with the sound of the cable going out and then goes to an all-black with writing stating “ We just can’t afford more of the same”. The image after the fuzzy screen appears as a public notification, important and to the point. The overall message of the advertisement is that Bush has demolished America and McCain is his nothing but his successor and student, therefore implying that they are the same. Instead of recovery, McCain will exacerbate the problems that Bush has already made during his time as leader. The use of scare tactics is effective as American voters can already associate with what Bush has done to their country and the fear of another “SAME” President is frightening.

The last image is of Obama and Joe Biden with the text “For the change we need” with the word change slightly bolder, emphasizing that Obama and Biden are a direct contrast to the Republican ticket that simply offers more of the same. The image is shot from below making the two appear higher; showing dominance over the situation and glory, which evokes a sense of pride. The preceding series of images made McCain appear lesser than Bush; having a teacher-student relationship with him and giving the impression that if one votes for McCain, one is really voting for a man who idolises George Bush. The use of the word “SAME” when referring to McCain denotes a negative association of a crumbling America while Obama’s “change” is one of a thriving and rebuilt America, making this ad campaign highly effective in achieving its aims.

It is important to note that the Democrats were not the only ones to employ propaganda as a tool during the 2008 elections. The Republicans initiated contradictory messages glorifying the then-present system which suggests that the samemonetary and socio-economic fears; would remain if the Democratics were elected. In contrast the Democratic fear-mongering, ‘The Same’ advertising campaign uses “positive, comparative and negative” (Twitchell, 2000, p.154) ads fused into one telling how Obama is the change and how McCain is a replica of Bush, shedding a negative light on McCain and his party. Both parties attempt to sway the mindset of the populace. Both parties used the art of propaganda, be it emotive, ideological, fearful and/or collaboration of the two ideas.

Propaganda is a staple in civilization; it evokes emotions and attempts to influence mindsets in favour of, or against, a belief. Edward Louise Bernays (2004) is seen as a groundbreaker in public relations, he saw manipulation as a necessity in order to appeal to the society whom he viewed as having ‘herd instinct’. He felt that society had a mob mentality and, with this attitude of the populace, propaganda would be easily accepted and human minds can be controlled for exploitation. He intertwined and used psychology and social science as a blueprint influencing the popular culture. Berneys argued in his book “Propaganda” that in a “democratic society” it was important to influence and control habits and ideology of the populace; in doing so “those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is true ruling power” (Bernays, 2004, p. 37). During campaigning, it becomes important to gain confidence from the general population. The use of propaganda to infiltrate the moods of the mass became important and a necessity.

‘The Same’ was a great success; the buzz word associated the Republicans with negative associations, making them a sign of stagnation in an ever-changing America. Obama’s use of other mediums such as the internet made him more relatable to younger voters and allowed for him to thrive in this demographic. Barack Obama infiltrated the new medium using Facebook to directly communicate with his audience. He made daily posts, giving him an authenticity to his character which “married online enthusiasm with on-the ground mobilization” (Vargas, 2009, p.330) which ultimately added to his success.

 Propaganda creates a connection between two unrelated items, for instance Obama’s “Yes We Can” motto has become a symbol of independence from the previous administration. “THE SAME” is a symbol created by the Democratic Party to depict a stagnant America under Republican rule, whilst Obama is the change that is needed to progress into the future. Propaganda is a way of telling people what to think and what to do; it essentially acts as a subliminal brainwashing in order to influence a group’s decision. Obama used his craze of unification to appeal to the masses so America, “We”, will act as one unit, and support our leader, the President of the United States. In conclusion, it can be said that propaganda is part of everyday lives; it can be visual or sensual, verbal or perceptive, powerful or dominant and can be used not only by corporate advertisements but also politics.


 * __BIBLIOGRAPHY: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bernays, Edward L., and Mark Crispin Miller. Propaganda. Grand Rapids: Ig, 2004. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Goffman, Erving (1979). Gender Advertisements. Harper Torchbacks: New York, pp. 24 – 83.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Gwinn, Robert P., Peter B. Norton, and Phillip W. Goetz. New Encyclopædia Britannica- Macropædia: Knowledge in Depth. 15th ed. Vol. 26. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1989. Print. pp. 166-174.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Twitchell, James B. "LBJ vs. Barry Goldwater: Thirty-Second Politics." //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">20 Ads That Shook the World: the Century's Most Groundbreaking Advertising and How It Changed Us All //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. New York: Three Rivers, 2000. 154-61. Print.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Vargas, Jose A. "Campaign.USA: With the Internet Comes a New Political ‘Clickocracy’." //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Advertising and Consumer Culture Reader //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. New York: Routledge, 2009. 328-33. Print.


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Appendix: __**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Same Ad: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">(Print Screen Images Taken From YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=obama+the+same+&aq=f)