It's the Economy, Stupid

Unfortunately, the 1990’s going into the new millennium weren’t quite exciting in regards to campaign slogans. However, there are a couple memorable candidates as well as elections.

The first election of the 1990’s featured the first Clinton candidate, George H.W. Bush, and Ross Perot. As we all know, Bill Clinton won the election and became the last president of the 20^th century. Most of Clinton’s taglines were simplistic, for example “Putting People First” and “For People, for a Change.”

But there was one that really resonated with the crowd: “It’s the economy, stupid.” This line was created by campaign strategist James Carville as the second of three focuses for campaign workers. To focus the campaign staff, Carville posted a sign at campaign headquarters that read:

               “Change vs. more of the same.”

               “The economy, stupid.”

               “Don’t forget healthcare.”

These lines summarized the goals of the Clinton campaign, and clearly some of them were not meant to be used as slogans. “The economy, stupid” was the exception as it pointed out one of the biggest national issues of the time. Furthermore, it was blunt about it. The message is clear and you would have to be stupid to miss it.

Image from inequality.org

The slogan rests right between insulting the previous president and declaring the candidate’s plans. At the time, incumbent president George H. W. Bush was running for reelection after a term of economic difficulties. Clinton supporters used the line to dissuade others from voting for Bush because his actions in office proved inadequate to solve the economic problems of the time. They treated the economic situation as something that was simple to solve and they suggested that Clinton would be able to do just that.

The line itself was elegant in a way summarizing an entire campaign in 3~4 words depending on which source you look at (sometimes “It’s the economy stupid). During Clinton’s term, America saw a major period of economic growth earning Clinton an extremely high approval rating.  

It’s Morning in America Again

The best campaign slogans often come from the reelection campaigns of popular presidents. Perhaps the best example of this is Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection slogan: “It’s Morning in America Again.”

Reagan’s first term was prosperous. He established new legislation to fix the economy. In the low tax system that became known as “Reagonomics,” America saw economic growth, decrease in unemployment, and a reduced rate on inflation. This new found era of prosperity made Reagan an extremely likeable character.

“Morning in America” reflects the positive environment of the nation as morning is often the symbol of a new beginning. The slogan suggests that Reagan pulled America out of the night and into the sunlight. The full advertisement video concluded with a question: “Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than four short years ago?” When a campaign focuses on the positive accomplishments of the candidate, it is much easier to support the candidate. It provides an idea of what can be looked forward to with the next term.

During the current bid for party nomination, two of the leading Republican candidates (Rubio and Cruz) are referencing “Morning in America” in their campaigns. Marco Rubio currently has a video ad “Morning Again” that mimics Reagan’s video, however, it talks about a different time for the nation. Reagan’s video followed prosperity. This election follows an economic decline and the message of the ad is less about the virtues of the candidate and more about the flaws of the predecessor.

A key point to consider is the message when it comes to analyzing campaign slogans. The most effective are those that speak of the tangible achievements of the candidate. On the other hand, the most used are those that speak poorly of the opposing party. It is quite easy to mud-sling at an opponent; anything can be made fun of from their history to their appearance. But this can be done by anyone, rendering it ineffective at garnering votes. The most challenging part about winning an election is creating a name for yourself and a good one too.

In the history of campaigns, candidates, especially incumbents, win by the largest margins when they have something to show. The shear popularity of certain candidates can even bring about an attitude of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Once a candidate’s name is in the minds of the public, they automatically have an advantage over the opposing party. A prime example of this is the popularity of Donald Trump. His “unique” viewpoints have captured the attention of the media and of the people.

And in a way, that accomplishes the ultimate goal of campaigns: to bring awareness to what each candidate has done and promises to do.  

Not Just Peanuts

The elections that follow turbulent periods in the presidency are always interesting. The election of 1976 followed the chaos of the Watergate scandal and the general public had trust issues with the government. The election was between incumbent president Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, governor of Georgia.

Carter had an interesting approach to the election. Before the election process started, including primaries, Carter was virtually unknown outside of Georgia. He didn’t let this stop him though. He aggressively campaigned before the primaries, even before other candidates declared that they were going to run. By the time primaries came around, Carter was easily selected as the Democratic candidate.

Carter’s lack of a name in national politics made him an excellent candidate for presidency because it gave him distance from the Watergate scandal and the conflict in Vietnam. Although Ford was clean of Watergate as well, his name was still connected to Vietnam. Carter provided a clean slate for the government to recover on and heralding the candidate were two slogans: “A Leader, For a Change” and “Not Just Peanuts.”

Image courtesy of amazon.com

“A Leader, For a Change” was a pretty straight forward slogan. The line pretty much told the public that Carter would fix the mess the government had created. There are two basic ways to interpret the slogan. First, Carter is a leader opposed to those who came before him. Second, Carter “when he is president” will bring about changes. This was a unique aspect to Carter’s campaign promises. They began with “when I am president” instead of “if I am elected president.” This combined with the slogan shows that Carter was serious about his bid for presidency.

“Not Just Peanuts” is one of the more memorable presidential slogans. This line is unique to Carter because it links to his farmer origins. Before becoming involved in politics, Carter had grown peanuts, building his farm from nothing. The slogan gives a shout out to his roots (literally… peanuts grow in the ground… not sorry) and depicts him as a common farmer who has worked his way to the national politic scene. But, the slogan also states that he isn’t just peanuts; he has more than farming knowledge. Carter had served in the navy aboard nuclear submarines and in politics as senator and governor for Georgia.

Attempts to market a candidate as being a common man have been used across campaigns beginning in the 1800’s. Famous examples include Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln who used their location of birth (log cabins) as a major selling point. The key behind these successes is that it make the candidate more relatable. The America public continues to look for people who they can trust and this trust is often found amongst peers.

Additionally, a curious possibility that I thought of while looking at this slogan is that it is trying to validate Carter’s pursuit of presidency. If you look closely, the slogan is one syllable off of “not just nuts.” Realistically, Carter’s campaign was a little crazy in the sense that he catapulted himself from being almost unknown in national politics to the presidency.