Every campaign needs a communication strategy, with tailored messages from top to bottom. As such, our wee blog from Scotland will have to take a back seat for now.
Once the dust has settled, and Barack has – touch wood -been safely re-elected, we will be eager to share our experiences. We’re especially keen to relate what we’ve learnt back to Scotland.
We are all enjoying Virginia immensely – from the diversity of the Commonwealth to the bluegrass music, and especially the people we are meeting along the way.
Thanks for supporting Scotland for Obama.
Nigel, Matt, Greg & Stuart
After witnessing (and participating in) the reception Michelle Obama received on a Virginian university campus, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much the cult and popularity of the Obamas boosts their electoral chances. I also couldn’t help but contrast their standing with most British politicians.
The crowd clamours to wave goodbye to Michelle Obama.
Barack Obama can slow the jam the news to rapturous reception. George Osbourne’s public appearance at a Paralympics medal ceremony led to pantomime style booing.
Obama and Biden can nip down to a local burger joint and this happens. Ed Miliband looks awkward in Gregg’s.
So, does it matter that most British party leaders are not particularly cool? Does it disqualify them from high office?
I am going to argue against my gut reaction here; yes it does. Or it makes it harder for them to be successful, at least. Being blunt, you need to be charismatic if you’re going to be a representative of your country. Charisma (or ego) alone is a terrible ingredient in a politician, but when mixed with others (intelligence, determination and empathy to name but a few) it can be the secret ingredient that gives you the winning edge.
At a time when The Conservative Party suffered heavy losses across the country, Conservative Boris Johnson, by sheer force of personality, retained his place in London City Hall as mayor. Although polls now are showing some turn-around to put President Obama ahead overall, he raced a neck-and-neck against Gov. Romney for months as polls placed him behind on the economy but ahead on likability. For further evidence, you need look no further than this 24th August poll, indicative of many others.
So, maybe you don’t need to have a great singing voice, a loveable family, or be the sort of guy (or gal) I’m desperate to go and have a beer (or gin) with; but you need to be likeable enough to represent the country and for me to think that you can empathise with my concerns.
Yesterday afternoon, we went to our first campaign event with the Barack Obama campaign, to see none other than the First Lady, Michelle!
Most observers agree that Michelle is the best surrogate for her husband – she is warm, personal and funny. And boy does she get the crowd going! The last time I heard this chant, it was the day after Bush won in 2004 on the TV. Feels a lot better this time round.
With your help, we can get it done.
The key campaign messages ran through the speech, as you’d expect: moving forward, not a return to the past; the difficult place the country was in before the Obamas entered the White House; the achievements in foreign, social and economic policy of the past three and a half years.
Most of all she was personal. This stump speech was very much derived from her successful DNC speech. The personal struggles the Obamas went through, the reasons she fell in love with her husband, and the glimpses into the White House struggles (as both parents and leaders) were all there.
The part that I thought was most powerful was near the end. Michelle’s voice cracked as she returned to the watchword of the 2008 campaign:
…in the end, that’s what this is all about… elections are always about hope. The hope that I saw in my dad’s beaming face as I crossed the stage to get my college diploma. The hope Barack’s grandmother felt as she cast her ballot for the grandson she loved and raised. The hope of all those men and women in our lives who worked that extra shift, who saved and sacrificed and prayed so that we could have something more. The hope that so many of us have when we look into the eyes of our kids and our grandkids.
Of course she was there to do more than just say a few words. She was there to rally the troops, to inspire the assembled mob to go forth and win the election in this crucial battleground state.
You may need to register!
A final thought on the day – the organisation is incredible. From the sheer number of volunteers, to the systems in place, to the venue and staging, we were impressed by the professionalism, enthusiasm and speed at which things happened.
I will do a fuller piece on surrogates and their roles in political campaigns at a later date, but I will leave you with some of our pictures from this amazing day.
WHILE MANY people have tried to frame the election as a referendum on President Obama’s first term, there is one reason this can’t be the case: the election is not a popularity contest. As Al Gore will attest, you can win 50% of the votes and still lose! That’s because of the Electoral College, a system where each state receives a number of ‘votes’ which are in turn used to elect the president and vice president. Smaller states have disproportionate influence, and because most states are winner-takes-all, battleground states receive more than their fare share of political pandering, attention and money.
Another piece in the electoral puzzle is the fact that responsibility for conducting elections resides at the state level – creating complexity as each state determines differing rules for voter registration, and even ballot papers. While perhaps advantageous in isolating problems to individual states, the process creates incentives for politically motivated registration laws, redistricting, and underfunding the mechanics of designing and counting ballots (see Florida 2000).
The Obama strategy, and a future Democratic majority, aims to expand possible pathways to victory. Whereas Kerry in ’04 was reduced to going all in on winning 2/3 of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania – demographic changes and sophisticated volunteer driven campaigning have brought new combinations into play to reach 270 electoral votes. The new battlegrounds are Virginia, Colorado and even N Carolina.
Scotland for Obama are putting our credibility on the line – here is our prediction for November 6th. Can you do better? Send us your predictions and we will put the best up on the blog!
AS YOU MAY have seen from this Edinburgh Evening News article, two of our cohort are former employees of Kezia Dugdale, a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). Last week, before we set off for Virginia, we invited every MSP out on a surprisingly sunny Scottish afternoon to wish us luck and have their picture taken with our fun signs.
We were thrilled to have MSPs from across the political spectrum join us. Below is a slideshow with a few of the snaps. We’d like to thank Members of the Scottish Parliament Iain Gray, Margaret McDougall, Claudia Beamish, James Kelly, Claire Baker, Willie Coffey and Bill Kidd for their time and enthusiasm.
As representatives of the people of Scotland, we hope this support shows how widespread and strong the feeling is across the country for Obama. While this election may not have captured the media’s attention as much as 2008, these MSPs (and many others!) have an important message – Scotland backs Barack.
HAVING PUT our lives at home on hold, today is the big day! With great excitement, we start campaigning for the President today.
We chose to base ourselves in Virginia for important reasons. After 40 years of voting solidly Republican, Virginia was heavily targeted in ’08 as part of Obama’s strategy of expanding possible paths to 270 electoral votes. For the first time since 1964, the state voted for a Democratic candidate. Historically, Virginia – once home to the capital of the Confederacy – backed an African American for President, 44 years after the Civil Rights Act. Virginia is again crucial to victory in ’12.
The Obama effect in Virginia is indicative of a wider phenomena of demographic changes favourable to Democrats – the shift towards a majority-minority America extends the possibility of a permanent Democratic majority. Virginia, like America, is becoming more diverse – something which a Democratic Party sympathetic to extending opportunities for the young alongside real immigration reform can exploit over Tea-Party fuelled indifference from the Republican party. Continue reading →
We’ve been in the country for just two days, and the main thing that’s struck us is the brilliant hospitality: from Nigel’s friends at Georgetown University, who let us stay on various inflatable beds and couches, to the Pittman’s who are having us to stay for the next few nights (and, I can assure you, make an excellent guacamole).
This week we’re staying in Petersburg, just south of Virginia’s capital, Richmond. Over the next few days we plan to split our time between campaigning and seeing more of the area. And, rumour has it Michelle Obama is in town Thursday.
We all campaign as volunteers. While this blog is inherently supportive of President Obama’s re-election, Scotland for Obama remains editorially independent and does not reflect the views of any political campaign. Just those of four laddies from Scotland.
