What is it about McCain’s campaign slogan – plastered on his podium – that makes people uneasy?
(Picture via Huffington Post).
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What is it about McCain’s campaign slogan – plastered on his podium – that makes people uneasy?
(Picture via Huffington Post).
November 4th, 2008 at 2:47 am
Not sure, perhaps the need for better branding and design consultants?? But the guy is 72, let’s cut him some slack.
One final shout-out for McCain, a true American hero who we all should admire and respect. He refused to let anyone in his campaign or on the right-side of the fence make Reverend Wright an issue and, consequently, turn this election into a racial tug-of-war. That certainly cost him some votes and stands in stark contrast to the divisiveness that we saw in the Democratic primaries last Spring. So at least he lives up to his “Country First” tag-line; and his above-the-belt approach should not got unnoticed.
That said, GOBAMA!!
November 4th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Maybe it sounds almost like socialism, or some variation of those terrifying “-isms” which have been used to denigrate Obama. So much for maverick-y, bootstrapping, rugged individualism.
Sorry, Hayden, I’m in NC and have seen several Wright ads. They may not be from the McCain campaign, but they are from a GOP group.
November 4th, 2008 at 6:41 am
“Country First” implies that the other guy does NOT put country first. It’s an appeal to nationalism and emotion, without any rationality present at all.
November 4th, 2008 at 6:42 am
“Country First” – what does it mean?
Countryside before city?
USA before other countries?
It sounds like the name of a rural bank: “Country First Savings and Loan”
Let’s hope the Republicans are grooming a more inspiring candidate (with more exciting ideas) for the next go-around ….
November 4th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Sandy, I’ve some recently too from some of a PAC but McCain has ardently opposed any use of Wright in the campaign, much to the chagrin of the GOP, and he should be commended for that.
It does sound like a cheesy bank name!
November 4th, 2008 at 7:41 am
I am confused? Who said it makes people uncomfortable? (is there data or is this anecdotal)
I believe that Swordsman makes the point that it is intended to say that Obama does/has not put the country first in his career — you know the whole 2 autobiographies/no legislation argument?
Regardless: everyone (in the US) please enjoy they day no matter who wins. We cannot forget how special our elections are — peaceful transfers of power. G-D Bless America! Go Vote!
November 4th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Maybe people who work in the 21st century global, knowledge economy — or who follow issues at a global level — find the slogan a little anachronistic.
I have a feeling that it appeals to a core group of patriotic republican voters who McCain needs to mobilize on election day.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Apparently before deciding on “Country First” the McCain campaign actually considered “America First”. Sounds like creepy Pat Buchanan-type stuff.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I wonder if there’s also something subliminal in it–similar, for example, to the Republicans’ use of the phrase “the Democrat party” instead of “the Democratic party.” The non-usual use of the former subtly emphasizes the syllable “rat.” (See George Lakoff.)
If you deconstruct the phrase “Country First,” you’ll find a one-syllable appeal to the reptilian brain–something some marketing consultants believe is crucial in any campaign of persuasion. I suspect the power of that ‘brain’ is what McCain and his handlers found compelling in their choice of a running mate.
Like it or not, these things are in play.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I am still confused. I work in the global economy, have lived and worked in Europe and Asia, support free trade/increased immigration etc, but I do believe the US is an exceptional place (a la Lipset/de Tocqueville etc).
The US welcomed my great-grandparents when few others would and its economic and political systems have done nothing but give opp/liberty to my family. I love this country. Does this make me reptilian brained? I hope not.
(BTW, I am an independent and only registered once as a party member — when I lived in DC and had to register as a Dem for the mayoral primaries in order to have a say in the election).
Thanks all, I appreciate this conversation.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Upon further reflection, “Country First” is almost “Kennedy-esque” (“ask not what your country can do for you…”). Maybe it’s partially and subtly an appeal to the baby boomers who voted for JFK.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
David,
Country First is a rather transparent attempt on the part of the McCain campaign to portray Obama as (1) self-serving/selfish and (2) somehow less than American and somewhat foreign. The message was supposed to be “I’m John McCain, I’m a ‘real’ American and I’ve devoted my long life in a tough struggle to a purpose greater than myself, unlike this other guy who is inexperienced, hyper-ambitious, ‘foreign’….” Regardless of whether or not your family has done well in the US, I find that message to be rather grotesque. In addition to other things, it seeks to implicitly equate service to a greater good with military service and with service to one’s “country”, whatever that is. Why should we feel any special nationalistic solidarity? Why not just feel plain old human solidarity, based on the fact that we are all humans on the same planet with shared rights and needs? There is too much jingoism and other harmful sentiments loaded into that slogan for me.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I think it is supposed to evoke McCain’s military heritage and appeal to people currently in the military. Military families as a group feel out of place in a culture seemingly content that the poorer classes bear the brunt of that service and sacrifice McCain believes that soldiers, their families, and the folks who put ’support the troops’ ribbons on their cars, all will vote for War Hero. We’ll see.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Perhaps the slogan is an effort to distract people from the long-standing idea that the Republicans are for the rich. They want to persuade people to stop focusing on the almighty dollar and look at the other aspects of this party rather than just who benefits monetarily from their plans.
November 5th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Today I feel human solidarity AND nationalistic pride. I’ve rarely felt the latter and never both at once. Now I realize that having one without the other isn’t good enough. The balance is both, and they feed each other.
I’ve never felt as at home as I do today.