The Obama Reelection Video

A Hollywood Republican ^ | 04/04/11 | Tim Ross

[MrTim29]

Obama’s reelection team sent the announcement to their supporters this morning via email, along with a snazzy campaign launch video titled, “It Begins With Us.” The video features real people from political battleground states North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado as well as a few others from Michigan and New York providing interviews about the upcoming election and their support for Obama. As a former member of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) and producer of campaign videos, I took great interest in this video and this is my critique.

At their core, campaign videos can take two different approaches, they can go positive about their candidate or they can go negative about their opponent. When taking the positive approach one must think of the filmmakers as police officers trying to talk a suicidal person off the ledge… even in amidst tragedy, chaos and depression always use positive phrases and never use any negative words. In other words, it’s okay to bring up depressing news, but it needs to be done in a careful and methodical way as to not conjure up anything negative in the viewer’s mind.

Unfortunately for Obama, his campaign launch video is frocked with negative sound bites.

Right out of the gate Ed from North Carolina reminds the viewer that “the last couple elections that we’ve had have been, um, almost turning point campaigns.” That sound bite harkens the viewer to two specific elections… 2008 and 2010. In 2008, Obama, riding a wave of Hope and Change, won the election with 52.9% of the vote. But just two years into his presidency, the citizens of the United States went back to the ballot box and rejected Obama’s Hope and Change marking the greatest midterm landslide defeat for a President since 1938. Without uttering the details, Ed from North Carolina reminded the viewer that Republicans gained 63 seats in the House of Representatives (recapturing the majority), six seats in the Senate, six governorships, as well as 680 seats in state legislative races.

The next interviewee is Gladys of Nevada who claims she is “nervous.” Being nervous invokes an uneasiness or apprehension toward something. It is the opposite of being confident and bold. In past political arenas, nervousness about a campaign reminds one of Walter Mondale running against Ronald Reagan in 1984 or Bob Dole running against Bill Clinton in 1996. It’s definitely not a word a campaign wants associated with their candidate.

Katherine of Colorado appears next talks about “the changes we’ve seen the last two and a half years.” Which any informed person knows have not been positive changes. Aside from the highly unpopular and unconstitutional Obamacare bill being passed vis-à-vis backroom shenanigans, sweetheart deals, middle of the night votes and other high jinks, or the unconstitutional attack on Libya, or all the broken promise that stretch from Gitmo to Iraq and back, what positive changes is Katherine talking about? Troubling unemployment numbers? The looming inflation? The weakening dollar? Soaring food, gasoline and energy prices? One of the most depressed housing markets in history? Or is she referring to the massive spending and skyrocketing deficits in our government? While I give the filmmakers credit for using positive language, it does more harm in the end because the obvious contrast between the statement and the truth.

Next is Mike from New York, representing Obama’s base… the naïve first time voter. He discusses the energy and hope for this country that Obama “had for this country” a few years ago and that he plans to help reelect him based on that platform now. The fact that it is past tense, referring to an expired enthusiasm, isn’t going to help Obama next year.

Alice from Michigan is the next interviewee who starts off her sound bite with “Unfortunately…” She’s only talking about Obama not being able to spend the time and energy to reelect himself so it is intended to be a call to action for those Obama supporters watching the video; however, I couldn’t get past the negative word “unfortunately” being so prominently exclaimed at the start of her segment.

From this point forward, the individuals are recycled.

Gladys mentions how American voters all have the same concerns, “we want jobs to be out there and we want people to have homes and we want people to have opportunity.” Yet, these are the areas where Obama has failed the most. Obama promised the American people that if the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed, unemployment would not exceed 8% and it has been over 8% ever since. And wanting everyone to have homes? With millions of Americans unemployed and banks tightening their regulations on loaning money, there are no loans available to the average American looking to have a home. Housing prices see the biggest drop in over twenty-five years which CNBC described as “depression territory” in January 2011. This would be like Jimmy Carter running his reelection campaign on gas prices and his handling of the Iran hostage crisis.

And we revisit Ed from North Carolina who delivers the best line of the whole video while shaking his head, “I don’t agree with Obama…” Did they just not have any other sound bites available to use? Of course he goes on to say that he doesn’t agree with Obama on everything and he respects and trusts him, but when he says “I don’t agree with Obama,” the damage is done.

At this point it doesn’t matter that they suggest more things need to be done or that politics is how we govern ourselves and that it really takes place at the grassroots level. It doesn’t matter because the viewer is reminded of recent major Republican victories, negative changes the last two years, Obama’s shortcomings, and that he had enthusiasm years ago, but unfortunately, we don’t agree with Obama now.

Currently, the video, “It Begins With Us,” has 71,771 views on YouTube which include 1,470 likes and 1,022 dislikes. That is in contrast of his “Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC” video two and half years ago which has 952,132 views with 3,267 likes and only 241 dislikes. If “dislikes” on YouTube are future indicators of anything, I think the Obama campaign really has something to be nervous about in 2012.

By contrast, in 1984 America was emerging from a recession as President Ronald Reagan began his reelection campaign bid. One of the great political commercials ever created, “Morning In America,” (formerly titled “Prouder, Stronger, Better”) aired in support of Reagan. There was not one negative connation in the entire commercial. In fact, it contained statements like:

* “Today more men and women will go to work than ever before in our country’s history.” * “With interest rates at about half the record highs of 1980, nearly 2,000 families today will buy new homes, more than at any time in the past four years.” * “This afternoon 6,500 young men and women will be married, and with inflation at less than half of what it was just four years ago, they can look forward with confidence to the future.” * “…our country is prouder and stronger and better.”

There are stark differences between Reagan and Obama and those differences are manifested in their own promotional media during their midterm elections. Reagan gave America a reason for optimism. Obama just gave vacant hope and quite a bit of frustrating change.

So, if you find yourself on a ledge thinking you might want to jump, I sincerely hope that the filmmakers of “Morning in America” come to your rescue.

[jen0517]

I haven’t watched it, but I will now! So that I can “dislike” it on you-tube! Thanks for the insider’s view - good to know there are some Republicans in Hollywood!